The Abortion
by Rasberry Jo
Summary: Gallifreyans have a different concept of abortions than the rest of the universe. No actual fetus killing involved. Basically my version of S3 with Rose. 10/Rose, obviously.
1. Eleven's Plan

**Disclaimer: If I owned Doctor Who, River would be a lot less Mary Sue. Actually she probably might not exist at all.**

**A/N: Story starts with Eleven, but after this prequel ****it's all Ten and Rose****. Eleven is going to behave rather unhinged, but that's sort of the point.**

**I have no beta! :O I think my biggest problem is tenses. And Whofics are even worse than usual. So, hope I don't bomb, and hope you enjoy!**

* * *

The Doctor entered his TARDIS and kicked the console in pure frustration. In delirium his hand went up to his bowtie and nearly dislocated his axis from the rest of his vertebrae as he ripped it off and threw it across the console room.

'Don't be alone' she had said.

_Don't bleeding flip be alone!_

"Oh, _great_ advice Amelia." The Doctor screamed into empty space.

Being alone was all he's been for the past few centuries. Ever since he was forced to pull genocide of his own people he had been alone!

The Doctor ran through his ship with no clear destination in mind. He didn't want to think! Suddenly he barreled into a door as he took a sharp turn around a corner. The door opened and he stumbled in. Suddenly his senses were immediately bombarded with a familiar but half-forgotten scent. And pink. Lots and lots of pink.

All of the Doctor's frustration bled out and left behind a deep gaping melancholy hole in his chest. The Doctor sighed and took a framed picture and sat down on the bed. The picture had a man and a woman in it. The man was grinning from ear-to-ear and had his arm wrapped around the woman. The woman also had a grin, but it wasn't particularly visible as she was also kissing the man's cheek. If one didn't know better one would say with complete certainty than the people on the picture were lovers.

The Doctor sighed. He remembered when that picture was taken. It was possibly during the happiest time of his life.

"I wasn't always alone, Amy. I had… _her_." Doctor sighed again as he traced the woman in the frame.

He had been so terribly alone when he first became the last of his kind. But that didn't last for very long. He met his completely wondrous pink-and-yellow human, who steadily washed away his loneliness and replaced it with near-bliss.

He liked traveling with her since the beginning, and before he knew it he had started to fall in love. Rose was the biggest mystery. She was so simple and so special at the same time. And she was the only one _ever_ to make the Doctor fall truly in love. It was impossible to say when he had fallen. The dalek in van Statten's 'museum' called Rose 'the woman he loves', but Doctor wasn't entirely sure that he loved her like that quite yet. Oh, certainly he had strong attachment and affection (even a healthy dose of attraction) by then, but doubtful he was actually in love.

Maybe he fell when Jack came aboard? Or Adam even? However by the time of Game Station he had fallen hard for his pink-and-yellow human girl, but like hell was he going to admit to it. Even to himself.

No, he only admitted it when he got stuck in renaissance France with no way back to his hearts. But even if he openly admitted the truth to himself, under realization he would never see her again, there was no way he was going to admit it to Rose.

"Moron." Doctor berated himself.

He should've told her. He'd never told her because he knew one day he would loose her. Either she died of old age, or found someone else, or was killed, or simply walked away, she would eventually have to be separated from him.

"Like that matters." Doctor snorted derisively.

He never told her the truth because he didn't want to be hurt. It wasn't until years later that he realized that whether or not he had told her loosing her would've hurt just the same. All he had now was regret of what could-have-beens, however brief that would've been.

He had _so many_ opportunities, even when it seemed it should've been impossible, but he flushed them all down the crapper. Rose just kept coming back. Until he just shoved her away to his clone, effectively stopping her (very successful) attempts of returning to him. Wonder how they're doing? If they're happy? Married with children?

_Married_.

The Doctor flinched. He never loved and will never love anyone like Rose. Not even his own 'wife' River.

When he met her in the library and she whispered his name into his ear, he couldn't believe it. The only one he'd ever wanted to give his name to was Rose, which River was not. But the proof that he had/will do so was undeniable. So he felt a glimmer of guilty hope. That he would one day fall in love again, and be as happy as he used to be with her. But it was a fool's hope.

He did love River affectionately, but it was a very pale shadow compared to what he shared with Rose. And _almost_ platonic, even. But honestly, he had only had his wedding with River because he knew he would anyway.

Yes, _wedding_, not marriage.

After the wedding with River he had left it open… unfinished. Incomplete. Speaking your name to your spouse-to-be was only the first step in a true Time Lord union. Consummation was also necessary. While he had actually slept with River a couple of times, he hadn't actually 'consummated'. For this the couple would link their minds, laying completely bare before one another, and form an unbreakable bond.

After his wedding the Doctor had held on to foolish hope that River would eventually burrow her way into his scarred hearts like Rose had and replace her. He had given up on that ridiculous notion a long time ago by now.

The Doctor had never admitted this to anyone, least of all to River. What's the point? He would only bring her grief. Better to stew away in his guilt alone, and spare River's heart in oblivion.

The Doctor put the picture down again and pressed his face into Rose's pillow. It smelt like her. An imitation made by his TARDIS, of course. Her true scent had faded a long ago.

"What's the fucking point?!" He screamed out in frustration suddenly.

The TARDIS shook slightly, prudish about the Doctor's foul word. He murmured a quick apology and pushed off from the mattress. He turned the telly on for old times' sake (he and Rose used to semi-cuddle and watch movies on her bed) and it turned to some random alien soap opera. He rummaged on her shelf until he found a photo album and sat down on the bed again. He opened the leather bound book and looked at his sarcastically grinning ninth form with Rose.

But really what was the point in living anymore? The Ponds had kept him going, bringing a small ray of sunshine through the permanent thundercloud clad world his life had become. He had stretched his visits to them thin, trying to prolong their presence in his long life. And now they were gone too.

What was the point of living, if all there was any more was pain or, if he was lucky, empty apathy?

He should've let River shoot him to death by Lake Silencio for real.

"_What are you saying? Where is our son!?"_ The purple alien from the telly demanded dramatically.

"_He's gone!"_ The other alien wailed through tears.

"_What do you mean gone? *gasp* Oh no, you mis-miscarried?"_ The first alien demanded. Wow, that was some bad acting, even for a soap.

"_No! I-I had an… abortion…"_

Abortion, huh? The Doctor snorted and rolled his eyes. When one mentioned 'abortion' everyone would universally think of the termination of a pregnancy. Except if you're from Gallifrey. Pregnancies were _never_ terminated, mostly because they were near non-existent. The only time when a natural pregnancy would occur it would be to a _married_ couple, sometimes not even then. And considering how often people got married on that planet… Well, it would be extremely lucky to have even a single natural birth per century.

Children of Gallifrey were genetically engineered in 'looms'. Or simply: loomed. Usually they were considered as cousins loomed into the same family, but sometimes a child would be loomed with the combined genetics of two Time Lords apart from their own family group. Those children were done usually as a sign of good faith of various business arrangements. Mostly their blood parents treated them no different from the rest of their cousins. Even the Doctor was like that with his own son. It wasn't until his granddaughter Susan that his paternal nature came to be.

But the point stands: every single child was planned. Even the naturally born ones.

Ergo, no abortion.

Well, the concept did exist, but it was completely different from what the rest of the universe saw it as.

One could actually abort their own timeline. The termination of one's own existence.

Ironically Rose had actually managed to pull off a variation once, by complete accident. It was when she saved her father's life when he was supposed to die. The existence of her past self and past Doctor were eradicated. Extremely foolish thing to accomplish, but impressive nonetheless.

Naturally such a thing was not legal _at all_. However there lied the tricky part. There was no way to determine who had committed an 'abortion'. Whenever an abortion was done it sent a ripple through time that every Time Lord was able to pick up on easily, however determining who the person is to commit such an atrocity was impossible, since they literally erased themselves from ever existing after a certain point of time.

The Doctor was once accused of such. That was the whole Valeyard debacle, but since the Valeyard never actually faded nothing was ever proven.

"Should I go back in time and try to kill myself to be spared the pain?" The Doctor asked out loud, and realized with a shock that he was actually considering it. "Keep it up, old man, and you actually _will_ become the Valeyard."

The possibility of an abortion had always completely boggled the Doctor's mind when he was younger. But lately he had begun to understand it. Life can become so low you honestly won't care if you cease to exist- or even actually come to crave it.

Suddenly a metaphoric lightbulb ignited over the Doctor's head.

"Rose gave me a sense of true purpose, and happiness in my bleak existence. I've never wanted to live without her ever since meeting her. So… _why should I_?!"

The Doctor closed the album, threw it on the bed and rocketed out of Rose's room towards the console room.

The TARDIS gave a warning and slightly frantic hum.

"Oh, come on, Old Girl. I know you miss her too! You always favored her ever since she first stepped through your doors." The Doctor replied, crazed. "I just don't care about anything any more. I _want her back!_"

Lights flickered in response hesitantly.

"You're a TARDIS, you'll remember. Make sure I take care of her, alright? And it's not like you'll lose me either."

Flicking knobs and switches he hurled her across the vortex gleefully, to London, England 2012.

* * *

"Showoff." Eleven accused his younger counterpart.

"Sorry, do I know you?" Ten blinked at the bizarre tweed wearing young man.

"You ought to, but not really." Eleven wrinkled his nose. "Converses with a suit. _What_ was I _thinking_?"

Ten's mouth fell open.

"_You_! What on Earth do you think you're doing here?!" He asked angrily. Meeting yourself was never a good thing. Especially for him, since he never likes himself. Mostly because he's used to being the cleverest person in the room.

"I need to talk to you." Eleven said frankly.

"You shouldn't." Ten frowned, seriously. "…unless we're in a circular paradox?"

"We're not, but I just don't give a flying fuck any more."

Ten's eyebrows rose to his hairline. He didn't know what surprised him more: the fact that his older counterpart doesn't care he's risking a hole in the universe, or his crass use of language.

"What are you-?"

"Y'know, you never get to tell Rose Tyler how you really feel about her." Eleven cut him off.

Ten's face turned grim.

"I know. I can never tell her."

Eleven rolled his eyes. "That's complete bull. You _can_, you _should_, you just _don't_ because you're a **moron**!"

Yep, he never got along with himself.

"Hey!" Ten protested. "You know very well why-".

"Yeah, yeah, she's human, she's gonna die. Boo hoo!" Eleven snarked. "Well, guess what? You're going to lose her one way or another, doesn't matter how. But the thing is, losing her without her knowing how you feel about her is not going to hurt any less!" He ended with a scream.

Ten blinked. "What are you talking about?" He wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know.

"Whether you tell her how you feel or not isn't going to matter in the end as far as pain is concerned. All that there is now, is more regret I didn't enjoy my time with her to the fullest." The crazy glint in Eleven's eyes had dulled and he suddenly looked so very defeated. "Especially since you would loose her soon, too."

Ten flinched at the thought, then tensed up as a sudden epiphany struck.

"What are you doing here, exactly?" He asked carefully, afraid he might know the answer.

Eleven sent Ten a bland look. "Abortion" He replied bluntly.

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!" Ten exploded.

"Oh, yes." Eleven nodded absentmindedly. "Must be. And it's getting harder and harder to care, really."

Eleven looked at his hand that had started to slowly disappear already. The sight absolutely unnerved Ten, but Eleven was smiling serenely. "And it looks like its working."

"If you succeed you will cease to exist." Ten cautiously tried to reason with his older counterpart.

"That's exactly the point." Eleven exclaimed and looked up from his partly non-existing hand into Ten's eyes. "This isn't about getting a possibly better future for you. _I _just don't want to exist the way I have any more."

The pain in Eleven's tone took Ten by surprise. He had seen a _lot_ of pain in his lifetimes, but _this_ went beyond pain. Eleven was broken beyond hope of repair.

"Why now? Why not when we almost stopped Daleks from ever existing?"

The look of surprise crossed Eleven's face, and he looked at Ten as if he should've known the answer already. "Well, yes I guess I could have. Of course I could have." He smiled wistfully. "But then we may have never met Rose Tyler."

Ten hung his head and wanted to disagree with Eleven's logic, but found himself incapable. The fact remained that he wouldn't trade Rose for anything. Not even the pain of the Time War and his own race. _Now, that is just sad_. _Oh_, _how the mighty have fallen_. Ten reflected on his feelings for Rose.

He eyed Eleven's slowly dissipating arm.

"You said I'm going to… _might_ loose Rose soon?"

Eleven grinned widely. Ten had accepted his decision.

"Soon she's going to have a choice to make. Whatever that choice is going to be _you_ are going to _abide_ by it." Eleven advised Ten seriously. "And when you're literally holding on for your lives, remember, _for god's sake remember_, that YOU HAVE A SONIC SCREWDRIVER!" Ten jumped in surprise as Eleven screamed the last part.

Eleven smiled. "Good luck." He said and disappeared completely.

For a moment Ten just stood there in silence.

"Listen to what Rose wants and I have a sonic screwdriver." He nodded. "Gee _thanks_ Future Me, that wasn't cryptic _at all_. Everything is just _so_ clear now." He said out loud, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

But Eleven left more food for thought behind than the extremely foggy advice. And if he's serious enough to actually attempt and _succeed_ an abortion, then his words were nothing to dismiss.

* * *

**A/N: Has anyone noticed the Doctor's been behaving steadily more and more insane the further the show goes? Well, either that's the writers' plan, or they just suck at writing proper Who. Both are rather tragic, if you think about it.**

**Anyway, like I said my version of Eleven is even more frazzled, but I doubt he'd have done what he did unless he was pushed off the edge.**

**Thanks for Reading.**

**Feedback Appreciated.**


	2. Screwdriver? Why?

**Disclaimer: If I owned Doctor Who, you'd be lucky to get a single episode per year.**

**A/N: I'm a bit surprised by the amount of reviews. Because the word count didn't pass 5K I didn't expect to get over two or three. I guess that goes to show how popular 10/Rose is! Even after all this time. Yay!**

**Also if anyone sees any errors in my writing, please let me know and I'll try my best to fix them.**

* * *

The Doctor had plenty to think about what his older, now un-existing, counterpart had told him. But for now he strutted up to Rose, who was grinning at him mischievously.

"What?" The Doctor inquired.

Rose pulled something from behind her. "Cake?" She offered the small treat to him.

The Doctor laughed and accepted the cake and took a bite.

"Ball bearings you can eat. Masterpiece!" He cheered.

It was amazing. No matter how much he babbled on, Rose actually remembered what he said (usually). Most of his companions just droned him out when he was on a roll, but dear Rosie seemed to have a sixth sense or some sort of subconscious radar for his running commentary.

Rose hugged him.

"I thought I'd lost you." She said.

Ah right, the isolus child. He had already forgotten about that, with the stunt his older self had pulled.

"Nah!" The Doctor denied. "You're not going to lose me for a very long time. Not if I can help it. And since I'm brilliant, that is saying quite a bit." He preened and Rose rolled her eyes while giggling.

"So, what now?" She asked.

"Well, we'll go see the games! That's what we came for, isn't it?"

Rose took the Doctor's hand and teasingly begged him to give him a clue about them. The doctor teased her right back.

Fireworks crackled above their heads.

"Y'know, they keep on trying to split us up, but they never ever will." Rose said as she admired the fireworks.

The Doctor, however, preferred to look at Rose instead of the colorful exploding streams of fire above their heads.

"Not if I can help it." He said, uncharacteristically serious.

Rose glanced away from the fireworks. "We'll always be okay, you an' me. Don't you reckon, Doctor?"

The Doctor grinned at her. "Always."

* * *

After the 2012 Olympics Rose and Doctor went back to the TARDIS.

"You liar!" Rose laughed. "Got me right there, for a moment."

"Not my fault you're so gullible." Doctor teased.

"Hey!" Rose protested and threw the TARDIS mallet at him.

The Doctor dodged it while laughing.

"So, where are you taking me next, O Great Lord of Time?" Rose asked sarcastically.

The Doctor didn't reply at first. He just looked at Rose, a wistful look in his eyes.

"What?" Rose asked, a bit confused over his sudden mood change.

The Doctor shrugged it off and strutted towards the console.

"Y'know all my incarnations have strong points and weak points that vary from each other. Like, my second incarnation was pretty good with the flute." He fiddled with a few knobs on the console.

"Okay…" Rose said slowly, unsure where he was going with this.

The Doctor flipped the final knob and suddenly the console room was filled with music.

"Let's find out if I've still got the moves, shall we?" He grinned cheekily and reached a hand at Rose.

Rose snorted a laugh and took his hand. The Doctor immediately pulled her close and started twirling her around. Rose shrieked a laugh as she was swung, swirled and dipped by the Doctor who, as it turned out, definitely still had the moves.

It happened when the Doctor pulled Rose up from their final dip. For a short moment he was just holding her, then he lowered his lips against hers.

Rose was so surprised all she did for a moment was grip his arms and stare blankly with wide eyes. After the initial shock had worn off she hummed against the Doctor's mouth happily and slid her fingers into his hair.

After who knows how long a time later, the pair broke apart, both rather winded.

"I should've done that the first time we danced…" The Doctor gasped out.

"Yes, you should have." Rose rasped back, dazed.

_Cheeky little vixen_ the Doctor thought, amused.

* * *

The Doctor was still a bit haunted by his future's ominous warning, but that didn't stop him from having a good time with Rose. He took her to an asteroid bazaar where she bought a small trinket for her mother. Which reminded her that she hadn't visited her for a while, which made the Doctor cringe in anticipation of visiting Jackie Tyler.

Much too soon the TARDIS materialized in the Powell Estates.

"I'm going to get slapped." The Doctor dreaded as they walked hand-in-hand to Jackie's apartment. "I just know it." He pouted cutely.

"Why'd she slap ya?" Rose shook her head.

"Weeell, it's been a while since I last took you to see her, and she sort of had her heart broken by that Elton or Elvis, or whats'isface bloke then. And also, now we're sort of… y'know." The Doctor trailed off and pressed a kiss on her head.

Rose snorted. "I'm pretty sure she believes we've been shagging since leather jacket. So, I'm rather positive you'll be fine."

The Doctor stumbled over his own feet. "What, seriously?" He squeaked out with wide eyes.

Rose only gave him a tongue-in-cheek grin and dragged him along. They entered the apartment. Rose cheerfully, and the Doctor attempting to fade into the background, hoping against hope that Jackie wouldn't notice him with her daughter visiting.

"Mum, it's us! We're back!" Rose called cheerfully.

Doctor cringed. Why couldn't she have said 'it's me, I'm back'? Jackie might've been less keen to notice him then.

Jackie came to the hallway and pulled her daughter into a hug. The Doctor took it as an opportunity to try and sneak past the pair of women, but it wasn't meant to be.

"Oh, no you don't! C'mere!" Jackie called out and the Doctor tensed up.

Then Jackie pulled him close and landed a big fat kiss on his lips. Then she proceeded to hug the stuffing out of him. The Doctor may or may not have protested, but he was in too much shock to really remember. Fortunately Jackie released him soon after. Deeply disturbed, the Doctor wiped his mouth.

"I think- I think I may actually prefer the slap. Sorry Rose, but your _mother_ kissing me is just- _just_ wrong." He stuttered as Rose did her best trying not to laugh. She took pity on him and kissed the corner his mouth. "At least she likes you." She consoled.

The Doctor glanced at Jackie to gouge her reaction over her daughter kissing him. She was just standing there as if nothing in the world was out of place.

_Oh. She probably _does _believe I've been shagging her daughter_. The Doctor thought, oddly disturbed and relieved at the same time.

Rose started twittering away about the bezoolium she'd gotten Jackie, and Jackie replied that her father was coming to visit. She cheerfully went to the kitchen to put on some tea.

"She's gone mad." Rose whispered.

"Tell me something new." The Doctor replied, not particularly used to Jackie being so chipper.

"Granddad Prentice- that's her dad- but he died like ten years ago." Rose explained.

_That's new_. The Doctor thought. _Interesting._

Rose followed her mother to the kitchen to try and reason with her, however then a blurry, but definitely humanoid, shape sort of just walked into the room through the _wall_.

"Dad, say hello to Rose. Ain't she grown?" Jackie said with a wide smile while Rose and the Doctor just stared. The Doctor glanced out the window and realized there seemed to be more of them. He took off running and Rose followed him.

Once they were outside they realized that the 'ghosts' really were everywhere. Once they had faded they went back inside and tried out the telly. The Doctor wasn't pleased to find out the ghosts really were literally _everywhere_ on the planet.

"When did it start?" He asked Jackie, and she started going on about her neighbor hearing a noise in the cellar. Doctor rolled his eyes and corrected Jackie to 'worldwide'.

"Oh! That was about two months ago."

Jackie was adamant to believe that the 'ghosts' were really ghosts, but neither the Doctor nor Rose were so sure. So they went to the TARDIS to try and figure things out. The Doctor even had his nerd moment as he jumped out with some 'ghostbuster' equipment, complete with singing the theme song. He managed to crack Rose up, at least.

After the 'trap' was set and the Doctor was outside the TARDIS, Rose and Jackie were inside the time ship with Rose running maintenance.

"You even look like him." Jackie took the opportunity to talk to her daughter privately.

"I suppose I do." Rose agreed with a grin.

"You've changed so much." Jackie sighed.

"For the better." Rose agreed.

"I suppose."

Rose looked at her mother. "What's this really about?"

"What happens when I'm gone?" Jackie asked morbidly.

"Don't talk like that." Rose frowned, not comfortable where the conversation was heading.

"No, but really. When I'm dead and buried you won't have any reason to come back home. What happens then?"

Rose looked down for a moment and didn't answer immediately.

"You know I love him, don't ya, mum?" She started.

"Of course I do." Jackie replied immediately.

"He does return my feelings, mum and-"

"Won't you ever settle down?"

Rose smiled at her mother. "The Doctor never will so I won't either. We'll just keep on traveling. _And_ there's nothing bad about that. It's what I want." Rose finished quickly as Jackie opened her mouth for a protest.

"In forty years time- fifty- there'll be this woman, this strange woman, walking through the marketplace on some alien planet. She's not Rose Tyler anymore- she's not even human." Jackie declared seriously.

Rose blinked at her mother before dissolving into giggles. "Mum-" she started, but was interrupted by the Doctor's shout "Here we go!"

Rose turned around and looked at the scanner. "Scanner's working! It says delta-one-six!" She shouted back jovially. She turned back to her mother.

"Mum, I'll always be your daughter, no matter what happens. And as long as you're here I'll always come and visit. Yeah, once you're gone I won't have much of a reason to, but it's not so bad. I'll have the Doctor."

"So you'll just keep traveling." Jackie said mournfully.

"And that's a good thing." Rose reassured. "All children leave their homes eventually. I doubt granddad Prentice liked dad all that much at first either."

That managed a smile from Jackie. "No, I suppose he didn't. He thought Pete a deadbeat and unworthy of my affection."

"But you loved him anyway, though lord knows you two bickered. And it's the same for me with the Doctor. Sure, our lives are not what you call 'ordinary' but we're happy. _I'm_ happy. Shouldn't that be what really matters in the end?" Rose reasoned and Jackie sighed.

"I suppose you're right. But can I at least expect grandchildren?"

"Mum!" Rose jumped, thrown off balance by her mother's sudden change of topic. "Uh, um, I- uh, I'm not sure we're compatible in that way." Rose flustered, not actually sure if that was the truth or not.

"Why? What kind of contraception have you been using?" Jackie kept on going.

"**Mum**!" Rose squeaked.

"Fine, fine, don't tell me. I don't need to know all the strange alien things you've been using. For all I know he may have tentacles down there."

With that Jackie went away to sit a little ways away. Not a moment later the Doctor burst in and started running around like a mad child on a sugar rush.

"I said so! The ghost have to be forced into existence from one specific point. I can track down the source!" He flicked the lever with a shout of 'allons-y' and started the dematerialization sequence.

He started babbling away as the ship flew to her destination. The Doctor gave Rose a smack on the lips and then realized Rose was uncharacteristically still. "You're staring at me." He pointed out.

"My mum's still on board." Rose said slowly.

_Oh… shit._ The Doctor thought as he located where Jackie was sitting.

"If we end up on Mars I'm going to kill you." Jackie said and crossed her arms defensively.

They landed. Doctor looked at the monitor and noticed that the TARDIS was surrounded by soldiers and theirs guns.

"Well, there goes the advantage of surprise." The Doctor noted lightly. "Still, cuts to the chase. Stay in here Rose, look after Jackie." He told Rose in the same light tone.

"I'm not looking after my mum!" Rose immediately protested.

"You brought her." The Doctor stated.

"I was kidnapped!" Jackie protested, sounding a lot like her daughter had just moments ago.

"Doctor, they've got guns." Rose pointed out seriously.

"And I haven't. Which makes me the better person, don't you think?" He said cheekily and kissed Rose's cheek. "They can shoot me dead, but the moral high ground is mine."

"But I don't want them to shoot you dead." Rose whined. "I really like that body of yours."

The Doctor preened under Rose's compliment while Jackie rolled her eyes.

"I like it too." He grinned and bounced on the balls of his feet. "It's very light."

Then he turned and was out of the TARDIS before Rose could form another protest.

"If they're not going to shoot him, _I'm_ going to strangle him." Rose grumbled as she and her mother pressed up against the door.

"Now you sound like me and Pete used to." Jackie smiled.

The pair listened to the Doctor's exchange with whoever it was that was out there. The woman in charge called the Doctor on his bullshit and all but demanded for him to reveal his current companion.

The Doctor reached in and pulled out Jackie, going on about some outlandish story that made Rose want to slap her forehead. Apparently Jackie was now Rose who had aged 57 years. Rose couldn't believe the little lie was bought, but then again the queen and her guards had also believed her to be a feral child bought with a sixpence from a circus.

Before too long the TARDIS got confiscated. Rose peeked out of the doors and noticed the Doctor. He gave her a nod. Rose closed the doors again. Well, what else to do in hostile environment than go sightseeing?

* * *

Pretty much everything went downhill from there. The Doctor discovered a void ship, and that the 'ghosts' were bleeding through the cracks of the universe, making them bigger, therefore making them extremely dangerous. Then Rose got herself caught by a Torchwood employee, effectively mucking up the Doctor's half baked plan to keep her safe. Then the apparent ghost attempted a coup of the ghost shift- and soon succeeded. Then an army of cybermen invaded the planet. Then the Doctor found out the void ship was not of cybermen design, but of someone or something far more dangerous.

With Rose- well, she was just pleasantly surprised to see _Mickey_ of all people. She had a hard time not to giggle as he made goofy gestures behind the Torchwood employee's back. That amusement didn't last very long when the alarm went off and _four daleks_ emerged from the void ship.

The cybermen and daleks clashed, and no alliances were made. Cybermen decided that now of all times would be a good idea to 'upgrade' their 'recruits'. They managed to get Yvonne (the woman who had been in charge), but got distracted long enough for Jackie to make her escape. The Doctor wasn't included as a recruit, the cybermen determined he had information about daleks and let him be… for now.

When things looked the grimmest, a new hope arrived. Daleks and cybermen may have come from the void, but they were also followed by their enemies: people whom the Doctor could call his allies. The Doctor was taken for a spin in the parallel universe where he met Pete Tyler, who had become Torchwood's new director at that universe. They came back, fully intending to put a stop to the madness.

And they started with rescuing Rose and Mickey from the daleks, then Jackie from a couple of cybermen who had caught up with her and wanted to upgrade her. Parallel Pete also got a rather touching reunion- er, first meeting?- with his dead wife.

Soon the situation went from man-we're-screwed to holy-shit-the-universe-is-doomed, as apparently the four daleks had stolen a Time Lord prison ship containing millions of daleks, and managed to get it open using Mickey's handprint.

* * *

They went back to the breach room and watched through the window as the dalek army kept on pouring out of the prison ship.

"This world is going to crash and burn. There's nothing we can do. We're going home." Pete declared and took a dimensional hopper and gave it to Jackie. "You're coming with us."

"But they're destroying the city." Jackie protested frantically.

"Oh, I've forgotten you could argue." Pete said affectionately. "It's not just London, it's the whole world. But there's another world, just waiting for you. And it's safe- as long as the doctor closes the bridge." He explained to his parallel-wife.

He turned to the Doctor who grinned at them maniacally while wearing cheap 3D glasses.

"Oh I'm ready." The Doctor declared. He ran to a computer and started clacking away. "Equipment's right here. Thank you Torchwood! Slam 'em down, and close up _both_ universes."

"We can't just leave." Rose frowned, not believing the Doctor would leave this world to rot. "What about the daleks and cybermen?"

"They're part of the problem, and _that_ makes them part of the solution." The Doctor beamed, looking quite insane. "Well? Isn't anyone gonna ask? What is it with the glasses?"

Rose grinned widely. No matter the situation, the doctor could always act so ridiculous. That's part of the reason she fell so hard. "What is it with the glasses?" Rose indulged him.

"_I can see!_" He practically sang. "We've got two separate worlds, but between them we've got the void. That's where the daleks were hiding, and the cybermen traveled through it to get here, and _you_ lot." He pointed to the parallel universe people.

He then proceeded to take off his glasses and nearly poked Rose's eye out by shoving them on her face. "I've been through it. See?" He swayed playfully from side to side as Rose looked at him through the paper glasses. She reached out her hand to 'touch' the green stuff surrounding her Doctor.

"What is it?" She inquired, ever curious.

"_Void Stuff._" The Doctor replied gaily. "Look at the others." She instructed Rose. "The only one who doesn't have it: the only one who hasn't been through the void. Your mother." The Doctor pointed at Jackie. "First time she's looked normal in her life." He couldn't resist adding. Jackie protested the derisive comment.

The Doctor took off running towards where the rift would be, practically skipping.

"The daleks, the cybermen, they lived inside the void, they're _bristling_ with it. I just open the void in reverse. The void stuff gets sucked back inside!"

"Pulling them all in!" Rose joined the Doctor's cheering.

"Sorry, but what's the void?" Mickey cut in.

"The dead space. Some people call it hell." The Doctor explained.

"So, you're gonna send the daleks and the cybermen to hell? Man, I told you he was good." Mickey grinned.

Rose frowned as another thing occurred to her. "But… we've _all_ got void stuff. Including me. We're all contaminated. We'll be pulled in."

The Doctor opened his mouth to say that she would go to parallel universe with the rest. _Soon she's going to have a choice to make_. And he closed it again. This was it.

"You've all got to go back to Pete's world. _Ooh_ I like that: Pete's world. We should call it that!" He addressed the people in the room. "I'm opening the void, but only on this side."

"And then you close it, for good?" Pete specified.

"The bridge itself is soaked in void stuff. In the end it'll close itself." The Doctor corrected.

"Won't _you_ get pulled in?" Mickey frowned.

The Doctor grinned and showed them the magna clamps.

"That's why I've got these! I just have to hang on for my life. Been doing it all my life." _…and when you're literally holding on for your lives…_ the Doctor couldn't hold back a wince.

Rose interpreted the Doctor's wince a bit differently.

"I'm supposed to go." She stated, not asked.

The Doctor's entire demeanor went grim and he stood in front of her.

"You should. You'll be safe."

Rose closed her eyes in pain and looked down.

_Whatever that choice is going to be you are going to abide by it._

The Doctor sighed and lowered his eyes

**SMACK**

His head flew to the side as Rose gave him the patented Tyler Slap.

"_Ow!_ What was that for?" He whined.

"For even daring to suggest something so completely retarded! I'm not going to leave you. _Ever_." _…going to abide by it._

The Doctor stood there for a moment before his mouth stretched into a grin. He grabbed Rose by the back of her head and pulled her into a short snog. Mickey may or may not have made a sound of disgust, but honestly he was too distracted to care.

"Right! You lot, off you go." The Doctor gestured to the rest of the group after he and Rose had pulled apart.

"I'm not leaving without her!" Jackie protested immediately.

"Well, _you_ don't have to." Rose reasoned. "I mean, you're not soaked in void stuff. You won't get sucked in."

"Jacks…" Pete whispered.

Jackie turned to her parallel-husband. She shook her head. "I can't, Pete, I just can't."

Pete's face was stony. For a moment he just stood there like a statue, then he pushed his hopper and disappeared without any further words.

"Right. Guess that's it for us." Mickey said and gave Rose a hug. "Bye, babe." He said and left as well. The rest of the team followed his example.

"You should go too." Rose told her mother.

"What are you babbling about?!" Jackie wrinkled her nose.

"Mum…"

The building rocked.

"_Systems rebooted. Open access_" said the cool female voice of the computer.

"Rose! Those coordinates over there, set them all to six." The Doctor called out and Rose went to abide by his command. A security camera got her attention. "We've got cybermen on the way up."

"How many floors down?" He asked urgently.

"Just one."

"Oh, my god." Jackie whimpered.

The Doctor hopped to a computer and clacked something in.

"_Levers operational."_

The Doctor grinned. He grabbed a magna clamp and gave it to Rose, along with a peck.

"There we go. The old team! Hope and Glory, Mutt and Jeff, Shiver and Shake!"

Rose snorted a laugh. "Which one's Shiver?"

"Oh I'm Shake." He beamed.

"That's all nice and dandy, but don't you think we've got to get to it?" Jackie cut in as she spied the daleks approaching.

Rose and the Doctor attached the magna clamps to their walls and went to the levers. "Let's do it! And stay close to the wall, Jackie. You may not be seeped in void stuff, but there's going to be millions of daleks and cybermen flying past us." He shouted and he and Rose activated the breach. As soon as the mechanical computer declared the breach online they made a mad dash to the clamps and clamped on.

_You have a sonic screwdriver._

How was that even relevant? But still, just in case the Doctor made sure he could whip it out at any moment

The breach opened and started sucking in everything drenched in void stuff. Jackie was crouching near Rose and was helping her hold on, just in case.

"Mum, you should go to dad." Rose told her mother as the daleks and cybermen whirred over their heads.

"Don't be daft, Rose." Jackie admonished.

"I'm serious."

"I'm not leaving without you."

"Mum, I've got the Doctor. But what about you?"

"I've got you!" Jackie protested.

"Mum, I love you and I would always visit you if you stayed here. But I've got my own life now. I've flown the coop. Dad could make you so happy in the parallel universe."

"But you wouldn't be there." Jackie protested.

"We've had a good life together, mum. Simple, yes, but good. I'm happy with the man I love. You deserve to be happy with yours."

Jackie's eyes filled with tears. But before she could say anything Rose's lever sparked and glitched.

"_Offline_" Said computer. Immediately the suction lessened.

"Oh!" Jackie gasped and climbed over to fix the problem. She pushed the lever back with almost no difficulty.

"_Online and locked._"

The force of the pull intensified again. Jackie looked at Rose who was smiling at her. Jackie started toying with the big yellow button that Pete had hung around her neck. She looked back at her daughter who nodded at her.

"I love you!" She screamed over the roar.

"I love you too, mum." Rose screamed back.

Then Jackie pushed the button and disappeared.

"_Systems closed._"

* * *

Rose was asleep in her room and the Doctor was sitting in the console room, staring at his sonic screwdriver.

"Remember, you have a sonic screwdriver. It's very important." He mused. "Rose had a choice to make, and she chose to stay with me, over her own safety. Check. But where did the screwdriver factor in?!"

"This is not what my future self was talking about? Ugh. This doesn't make any sense."

The Doctor rubbed his face in frustration.

"Fine, from the beginning again. If I hadn't had those warnings. Screwdriver? Irrelevant. Let Rose come to her own decision. I'm sure she still would've chosen me and… abide by it."

The Doctor's eyes widened.

"_Abide by it_! That implies I didn't listen to her last time. Yes, and if I hadn't done that I would've done what would keep her the most safe. I would've forced her into the parallel universe."

The Doctor's grin faded.

"And she would've been in the parallel universe. Aaargh! I _don't get it_! Where's the _screwdriver_!?"

"Doctor?"

"Rose? What are you doing up?"

Rose shrugged. "Couldn't sleep."

"You miss her, don't you?" The Doctor embraced Rose.

"'Course I do. But she's happy there, and that's all that matters to me."

"Do you wish you hadn't convinced her to leave?"

Rose shook her head. "I don't regret it. Though, I would like to know how she's doing."

"Hmm…" The Doctor hummed and suddenly started running around the console, twisting knobs, and gazing at consoles.

"Doctor?"

"If I can find a hole in the universe, a tiny hole, and that's a very big if…" The Doctor looked up at Rose. "We _may_ be able to send a massage through."

"Really?" Rose asked hopefully. "Won't that collapse the universes?"

"Nah. Think of the void as glass. Try to force yourself through and it shatters, but shine a torch through… The light projects on the other side leaving the glass intact."

"But you on your side."

"I'm sorry, Rose. This is the best I can do."

Rose smiled. "It's far more than I've dared to hope."

* * *

Jackie Tyler heard her daughter call for her in her dreams. Most people would think her mad, but not her husband. Not after everything they'd been through. There was also Mickey. So they packed up and followed wherever she heard her daughter. To some completely backwater beach in Norway.

"Mum." Jackie heard her daughter call and turned to see a transparent image of her and the Doctor.

"Rose!" Jackie called and took a step towards them.

"Ah! We're just an image, Jackie. You can't touch." The Doctor interrupted.

"You look like ghosts, all see through and stuff." Jackie pouted as she took a step back.

The Doctor pointed his screwdriver at something and the image solidified.

"Where are you if not here?"

"Inside the TARDIS. We're orbiting a supernova. It's rather beautiful, actually." Rose replied.

"There's a tiny little gap in the universe left, and it's just about to close. This projection takes a lot of power. We're sort of burning up a sun to do this." He grinned a bit sheepishly.

"Can't you come through for real?"

"Sorry, no. The whole thing would fracture and two universes would collapse." Rose replied.

"Oh, now you even sound like him." Jackie laughed.

The Doctor pulled Rose closer to him with one arm. "Where did the gap come out, anyway?"

"Norway. Some place that translates as Bad Wolf Bay." It was Mickey who replied that question.

"What? You serious?" Rose blinked in surprise and the Doctor laughed at the irony.

"Uh, right. Don't want to say this, but we've only got a few minutes."

"How are you doing, mum? You _are_ happy there, right."

"Would be better if you were here." Jackie smiled. "But yeah, can't complain. Pete and I 'renewed' our vows and I'm three months pregnant now."

"Get out of here!" Rose jumped, her eyes alight. "Mum, are you serious?"

Jackie smiled softly and placed her hands on her still unnoticeable belly. "More Tylers on the way."

"That's great, mum."

"Yeah, it is. But what about you two?" Jackie took a different approach.

"What do you mean?" Rose blinked in confusion.

"Uh, no. No children for us." The Doctor replied quickly.

"What, no working bits?" Jackie shot back.

"Oi! My _bits_ work just fine. Er, but I am practically sterile." The Doctor said, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

Rose buried her face in her hands in embarrassment.

"Oh. Alright. But you _are_ still going to make an honest woman out of her, tight?"

"_Mum_!" Rose protested.

"What? I'm your mother. I have the right to want to see my daughter happily married. And obviously since she's never going to leave _you_…" Jackie pointed to the Doctor.

"Mum, leave him alone. He doesn't have to marry me if he doesn't want to." Rose stood up.

The Doctor blinked. "If I don't want to?" He echoed.

"See? Rose wants to marry you, the least you could do is man up and-"

"Mum, stop it!"

"_Would_ you want to marry me?" The Doctor asked, ignoring everything around him but Rose.

Rose looked up at him in surprise.

"Well, yeah. Forever, right? I would marry you on the spot. But it's alright if we won't ever."

"No it's not!" Jackie disagreed adamantly.

"Actually, we _can _marry on the spot." The Doctor admitted.

Everyone clammed up at that declaration.

"We can?" Rose asked finally.

"Y-yah. But only if you want to."

"I do, but only if you do." Rose replied coyly.

"Good! Get married then. Now!" Jackie demanded and the couple jumped, almost having forgotten about her.

"Um…" The Doctor looked around the console room. "Ah!" He finally exclaimed and took off his tie.

"Right." He wrapped one end around his hand and the other around Rose's.

"Right. In a bit of a hurry, so I guess we'll have to do the quick version." He glanced at Jackie and Pete.

"Pete, say 'I consent and gladly give'." The doctor instructed.

"I consent and gladly give." Pete said after the shortest moment of hesitation.

"And you." The Doctor nodded at Jackie.

"I consent and _gladly_ give." Jackie beamed happily.

The Doctor turned to look at Rose straight in the eyes.

"Rose, I'm going to whisper something in your ear. You have to remember it, and tell _no one_ what I said."

Rose nodded and the Doctor leaned over. He whispered something their three witnesses could not hear. When he pulled back he smiled at his _wife_.

"I just told you my name. My real one. Keep it safe."

"Always, My Doctor."

The Doctor leaned over and kissed her.

Jackie, Pete and Mickey burst into applause and cheers. Mickey even whistled. But soon their cheers fell silent.

The newly wedded couple broke apart.

"Time's up." Rose said softly.

"I'm sorry." The Doctor said.

"Don't be. I know for sure she's happy now. And she knows I am too. That's more than enough."

The Doctor laughed and leaned to kiss her again, but Rose pulled back.

"Uhm, are we really married, or did you just do this for my mother's sake?"

The Doctor looked surprised for a moment but soon threw his head back in a laugh.

"Oh, no. This is the real deal, _wife_."

Rose's eyes lit up with happiness and she glomped her new husband into a kiss. As they broke apart a movement in the corner of the Doctor's eye got his attention. He turned and witnessed something truly ironic.

A bride dressed in white, and it wasn't Rose.

* * *

**I know the end seemed rushed. I don't like it much myself, but the problem is that Jackie definitely needed to be present, and this is supposed to be the last time Rose and the Doctor will ever see her.  
**

**About the handfastening ceremony itself: I know I practically ripped off Doctor-River wedding, and I'll admit I did it on purpose. I don't ship DRiver, **_**at all**_**, but the shotgun way they got married was really well done. It's also symbolic in my story, as Eleven ceased to exist. This is one of the many ways that will solidify how different but also similar things would turn out. So, yes, Doctor's marriage similarities to River and Rose were done on purpose.**

**Thanks for Reading**

**Feedback Always Appreciated**


	3. The Bride and the Wife

**Disclaimer: See previous chapter.**

**A/N: No one mentioned a thing about Rose's increased maturity. I thought I made it fairly obvious, but not one of you picked up on it! Eh, guess you'll have to find out next time.**

* * *

"Is this some kind of thing the TARDIS does on occasions like this?" Rose asked in confusion.

"_What_?" The Doctor squeaked, his own confusion eclipsing Rose's.

Then the white bride turned around and looked straight at the newlyweds. She looked just as puzzled.

"Who are you?!" She demanded.

"I'm guessing not." Rose commented to herself.

"Where am I?! What the hell is this place?!"

The Doctor shook his head and untangled himself from Rose, all the while mumbling about the bride being there was absolutely impossible.

"I demand you tell me where I am!" The bride screeched.

"Inside the TARDIS." The Doctor said, half in shock.

"What?"

"The TARDIS."

"What?"

"The-"

"It's a ship called the TARDIS." Rose cut in.

"That's not even a proper name! Who came up with such a stupid thing?!"

The Doctor winced almost unnoticeably, his mind flashed back to a brilliant young girl with short dark hair and a wide smile.

"How'd you get in here?" The Doctor changed the subject to something more productive than arguing the name of a ship.

"Well, _obviously_ when you kidnapped me!"

"What'd we do that for?" Rose protested.

"I don't know. Someone's paying you, probably. Oh, my god! It was Nerys, wasn't it? It has Nerys written all over it!"

"There's no reasoning with her, is there?" Rose told her husband who shrugged.

"Wait a minute, why are you dressed like that for?" The Doctor asked.

"I'm going ten-pin bowling." The bride replied sarcastically. "Why do you _think_, Dumbo? I was halfway up the isle!"

"It could've been a fitting. Not that you need that, of course. You look very pretty." Rose suggested, then started buttering up, since the bride was already blowing a casket.

"Nice try, missy! Just wait until your own wedding day, I'm gonna ruin it just so you'll know how that feels!"

Rose pointed towards the Doctor. "Kind of late for that."

"Oh… Well, of course, the pair of delinquents that you are! Well, then me an' my husband -as soon as he is my husband- are gonna sue the living back side off ya!"

Rose sighed and went to the Doctor who was fiddling with the console.

"Anything?"

"Nothing! This is most- NO! Wait a minute! Don't…" The Doctor got distracted by the bride who had finally noticed the doors and had made a break for it.

She threw them open and could only stop and stare in shocked wonder as she (barely) took in the supernova. The Doctor and Rose made their way to her.

"You're in space… _outer_ space. This is… our… space ship."

Despite the situation Rose couldn't help but smile a little at the Doctor's use of the word 'our'.

"How am I breathing?" Donna asked breathlessly.

"The TARDIS is protecting us." The Doctor explained.

"Who are you?" Donna turned towards the odd couple.

"I'm the Doctor, and this is my Rose." Rose waved with a slight 'hi'. "You?"

"Donna." The bride replied, looking a bit dizzy.

"Human?"

"Yeh." Donna replied with an eye roll. "Is that optional?" She asked a bit sarcastically.

"Is with me."

Donna looked taken aback. "You're alien." She stated.

The couple shrugged, accidentally assuming Donna was talking just about the Doctor, not the both of them.

"It's freezing with these doors open." Donna said after a moment of silence.

The Doctor took it as a cue to close the doors and go on a roll about how impossible it was for a human to transport itself into the TARDIS. His distracted babbling only earned him a slap from Donna.

"What was that for?" The Doctor pouted.

"_Get me to the church!_" Donna raged.

The Doctor blinked.

"Right. Fine! I don't want you here anyway. Rose and I were sort of in the middle of something that I'd rather get back to as soon as possible. Where is this wedding?"

"St. Mary's, Hayden Road, Chiswick, _London_, _England, Earth, the Solar System_."

"Actually, Milky Way Galaxy would've been more accurate. Do you have any idea how many solar systems there actually are?" Rose stated after Donna was done.

"Oh, _shut it_, you. You're _already_ married; you don't get to be funny on _my_ wedding day!" Donna bit back.

"Doesn't change the fact that she's right." The Doctor mumbled with a grin shot at his wife. Jackie was right, she really was starting to sound like him.

The TARDIS shook.

"Whoa. Rough landing. Even by your standards, love." Rose stated as she regained her footing.

Donna was already out the door. Rose and the Doctor followed.

"I said St. Mary's! What sort of Martians are you? Where is this?!" Donna complained, but the Doctor paid her no attention. He was more concerned with his TARDIS, and his concern made Rose concerned as well.

"What's wrong?" Rose asked.

"Not sure, but _something's_ wrong with her. It's like she's got indigestion, or something. Donna! Think hard, is there anything you've done lately that might've caused this? Lights in the sky? Or touching something strange?"

Rose ran a hand over the rotor. She didn't know what this was all about, but something about the TARDIS just seemed sort of… heavy. Indigestion was a very correct way of explaining it. It felt like two buckets of popcorn, a few packs of gummy bears, and some extra greasy chips to top it all off as well. In that order.

Rose glanced at the door to witness Donna's shell shocked face, before she pulled away and ran off.

"Donna!" Rose called, and that got the Doctor's attention as well. The pair ran after the runaway bride.

They caught up with her.

"Donna…" The Doctor started.

"Leave me alone, I just wanna get married." She sighed miserably.

"Just come back to the TARDIS, we'll figure something out." Rose said in a soothing tone.

"No way! That box is just too weird!" Donna shot back.

"Oi!" Rose protested, oddly offended.

"It's just a little bigger on the inside, that's all." The Doctor tried, but that didn't really help.

Donna exhaled in distress and looked at her watch. "Ten past three. I'm going to miss it."

"You could call them, tell them where you are." The Doctor recommended.

"How do I do that?" Donna snapped, but a little more softly now.

"Haven't you got a mobile?"

Donna sent him a disbelieving look.

"I'm in my _wedding dress_. I don't know what your bride looked like, but on earth we _don't have pockets_!" She screeched.

"Right, I'll go get mine." Rose said and ran to the TARDIS to get her phone.

When she found her phone and got back to the Doctor (no idea how, he and Donna had sort of wandered off without her) he was doing a little impatient dance in the queue to an ATM machine.

"What's going on?" She asked him.

The Doctor pointed to Donna, who was in a phone box.

"Oh. Guess she won't be needing my mobile, then." Rose shook her head. "But what are _you_ doing?"

"She doesn't have pockets, and we need money for a taxi. It's Christmas, by the way."

"Oh, really? That's nice. Wait… why's she getting married at Christmas?"

"Hates it, apparently."

Rose blinked. "She hates _Christmas_?!"

The man in front of them finished and the Doctor got out his sonic screwdriver and subtly made his not-quite-legal withdrawal.

"Donna's right. You're a delinquent." Rose teased.

"One that you married." The Doctor grinned and stole a kiss.

After money had been withdrawn they turned to Donna who was just about to sit into a cab.

"Thanks for nothing Spaceman! I'll see you in court! You and your wife!" She shouted and climbed in.

"The driver's a Santa." Rose stated calmly.

"Yeah, and so are those band players." The Doctor replied and Rose turned around to witness a band of Santas stop playing and lower their instrument-weapons at them.

The Doctor pointed his sonic screwdriver at the ATM and cash started flying out. The people around them cheered and started jumping around trying to catch their slightly early Christmas present. Rose and Doctor used the distraction to make a break for it. They ran back to the TARDIS and the Doctor started to quickly dance around the console, trying to get to Donna.

"Is this alright? She's still a bit peaky." Rose fretted.

"It's gonna put a strain on her, that's for certain. But if we don't Donna's gonna end up dead or worse."

Rose winced as sparks flew. The Old Girl definitely needed a vacation after this one.

"Here!" The Doctor pulled Rose to him. "If I say 'now' pull this lever." He instructed and ran to the doors. He threw them open.

_Oh. We're flying on a motorway_ Rose thought. _Wait a minute… we're _flying_ on a motorway._ Rose's nose wrinkled. _The TARDIS can fly?! Why didn't he use it when he swanned off to save Reinette?_

"Now! Rose, I said _now_!" The Doctor's screaming got Rose out of her inner rant.

"Oh, right." Rose said and pulled the lever. Immediately the console let out an entire army of sparks. Rose shrieked and jumped back, though fortunately, aside from a bit of disorientation, was unharmed. Groggily she pushed herself up just as the Doctor had convinced Donna to jump from the cab and into his arm.

"Your husband's mad!" She told Rose as she was tangled up with him on the floor.

"'Course he is." Rose replied with affection.

The Doctor wiggled his way upright and landed the TARDIS as quickly as he could. On some roof somewhere. The three exited the TARDIS who was spewing smoke rather wildly.

"Funny thing is for a spaceship she doesn't actually do that much flying. We better give her a couple of hours. You alright?" The Doctor turned the last part to Donna.

"Doesn't matter." Donna said sadly.

"Of course it does." Rose disagreed. "It was supposed to be your wedding day."

"You could always book another day." The Doctor suggested in an attempt to cheer her up.

"'Course we can." Donna sighed, not cheered up at all.

"Still got the honeymoon." The Doctor tried again.

"It's just a holiday now." Aaaand got shot back down again.

"Oh, Donna. Holiday with the man you love- _never_ just a holiday."

"I guess that's true." Donna cracked the barest of smiles. "Wish I had a time machine. Then I could go back and get it right."

"And what about your past self, then?" Rose teased and the Doctor raised an eyebrow.

"Well, she'd be stuck with you two." Donna replied and Rose giggled. The Doctor smiled as well.

Donna's brief amusement turned melancholy again and she sat down. The Doctor took off his jacket and put it around her shoulders.

"God, you're skinny. This wouldn't fit a rat. Not that I'm knocking your taste or anything." She shot the last part to Rose.

Rose grinned. "He's fitter than you might guess."

Donna wrinkled her nose. "That's more than I needed to know, thanks."

"By the way, you'd better put this on." The Doctor pulled out a simple golden band that looked suspiciously like a wedding ring.

_Is he talking to me or Donna_. Rose cocked her head.

"Oh, do you have to rub it in?" Donna sneered.

"Those creatures can trace you. This is a biodamper. It should keep you hidden." The Doctor explained and pushed the ring on her finger.

His eye caught Rose's who merely raised an eyebrow at him. The Doctor ducked his head sheepishly. Rose grinned. He was adorable when he was bashful like that.

Donna inquired about the robot-santas and the Doctor went into a brief explanation about what they really were.

"I met them last Christmas too." The Doctor finished.

"Yeah, right. _Briefly._ You were passed out most of the time. It was me an' Mickey that ran for our lives as they opened fire on us in public." Rose snorted.

"Why, was he drunk?" Donna asked.

"No, just a bit sick."

"Oh? So Martians do get sick too?"

"I'm not a Martian. And I still got better in time to save you lot from the Sycorax." The Doctor pouted.

"The what-o-rax?" Donna blinked in confusion.

Rose and the Doctor turned to look at her.

"Great big spaceship? Hovering over London? You didn't notice?" The Doctor asked incredulously.

"I had a bit of a hangover." Donna shrugged.

Rose and the Doctor sent each other incredulous looks. Rose shrugged and the Doctor shook his head.

"Question is: what do camouflaged robot mercenaries want with you?" The Doctor changed the subject. "And how did you get inside the TARDIS? Hmm… What's your job?"

"I'm a secretary." Donna replied as the Doctor took out his screwdriver and started scanning her.

"Weird! You're not special, powerful, connected, clever… You're not important…" Donna looked at the Doctor incredulously then turned to Rose.

"Do you ever punch him in the face?"

Rose grinned. "That's pretty much how he met my mother. He's been terrified of her ever since."

Donna snorted. "Figures. And _you_, stop bleeping me!"

"He's not bleeping, he's scanning you. He's just trying to figure out what you've gotten yourself tangled up with." Rose defended, but nevertheless the Doctor stopped.

"What kind of secretary?" He asked.

"H.C. Clements." Donna replied and her face turned dreamy. "I was temping. That's where I met Lance. It was all a bit posh, really. I thought I was never going to fit. But, then _he _made me a cup of coffee. I mean, that just doesn't happen. _Nobody_ gets secretaries coffee." Donna giggled.

"Must've been real smitten with ya." Rose smiled.

Donna nodded enthusiastically "I KNOW! He's the head of HR! He didn't need to bother with me. But he was nice, and _funny_…" Donna sighed in bliss. "And as it turns out, he thought everyone else was really snotty too." She smiled. "That's how it all started -me and him- one cup of coffee."

Rose smiled. "That's nice. Ours started when the Doctor planted a bomb at my job and blew it up."

Donna laughed and then looked at Rose. "Oh. You're serious."

"There was a hostile alien invasion." The Doctor specified.

"Ah. Right." Donna nodded, looking relieved.

"It was about two years ago linearly." Rose sighed in remembrance.

"Mine was six months ago… linearly." Donna replied, adding the last part a bit puzzled.

"Six months? Bit quick to get married." He turned to Rose as she knew a bit more about early 21st century courting than him. "Isn't it?"

Rose shrugged. "Maybe a little."

"What does H.C. Clements do?" Doctor changed the subject after he felt like it had become a bit too mushy for his tasted.

"Security systems." Donna shrugged rather nonchalant. "Y'know, entry codes, ID cards. Just a posh name for locksmith, if you ask me."

"I feel taken aback by the pride you have for your company." Rose snorted sarcastically, and Donna just grinned.

"Anyway, enough chit-chat. Time to go and face the music." Donna cringed. "You can do the explaining, Martian-boy." She shot at the Doctor.

"I'm _not from Mars_." The Doctor sighed.

Donna ignored him. "I had this great big reception all planned out. Everyone's going to be so heartbroken." She sighed.

"Will the Old Girl be alright to take us there?" Rose whispered to the Doctor. He grimaced

"Y_eaaah_, it would probably be better to leg it. Leave her to rest for a bit."

"Taxi it is, then."

* * *

When they arrived, the party was in full swing. When the guests noticed Donna's presence the music stopped and everyone turned towards her.

"You had the reception without me?!" Donna accused.

"Donna! What happened to you?" A dark-skinned man wearing a fancy tux asked. That must be Lance.

"You had the reception without me!" Donna repeated, sounding extremely betrayed.

"Hello, I'm the Doctor! And this is my lovely Rose!" The Doctor cut in, cheerfully. "Hiya!" Rose waved.

"They had the reception without me!" Donna complained to her new friends.

"Yes, I gathered." The Doctor agreed a bit awkwardly.

Everyone started arguing then and overwhelmed Donna with their confusion and questions. Then Donna put an end to it by starting to cry big fat crocodile tears. Immediately people backed off and Lance went to comfort her. Donna winked at Rose and the Doctor.

The debacle was pushed out of mind and Donna was able to enjoy her reception-turned-party with her almost-husband in relative peace.

"I usually only visit weddings for the dancing. _Well_, it's not really a wedding, but it's sort of a wedding." The Doctor grinned at Rose and pulled her to the dance floor.

"Technically it really was a wedding. Ours." Rose grinned and the Doctor's eyes lit up.

"Funny thing is, I'm usually rubbish at weddings. Especially my own."

"Really? It went rather well if you ask me."

The Doctor dipped his wife.

"Remind me to tell you later how many times we've actually gotten married by accident."

Rose's eyes widened comically. "What?!" She laughed.

After they had danced a bit of their fill the Doctor snatched Rose's phone and researched H.C. Clements.

"Awww, all work and no play leaves the Doctor's Rose one cranky wife." Rose complained, wanting to dance more. "Not to mention what you do to me when you're wearing those glasses." She added flirtatiously.

The Doctor tensed as Rose pushed herself up against him. "Oh?" He asked playfully and leaned down. After the kiss ended they both grinned at each other goofily. Rose glanced at her phone screen and her grin dropped instantly.

**H.C. Clements- Sole Prop. TORCHWOOD**

"Suddenly I don't feel like dancing all that much." Rose frowned. "'If it's alien, it's ours'. Do you think the company survived?"

"It received a pretty big punch, but it's also a very big organization. It's plausible to think it still exist in some form." The Doctor frowned.

Suddenly he noticed the cameraman. "Perfect!" His eyes lit up and he made his way to the man. The cameraman was friendly enough and allowed the Doctor and Rose to view the recording. Rose watched in wonder as Donna started glowing as she walked down the isle and disappeared while screaming. The Doctor was even more amazed than Rose and requested to see it again.

"That looks like huon particles!" The Doctor's brow was nearly drawn into one line as he looked at the recording again, almost unable to believe what he's seeing.

"The heart of TARDIS huon particles?" Rose piped up.

"Yeah I-" The Doctor clammed up and turned to Rose in shock. "How did you know that?"

Rose blinked. "Um, you must've told me?"

"I can't recall that. Ugh, must have."

"What's huon particles?" The cameraman asked.

"It's impossible for one thing. Doesn't even exist any more. It's ancient! So old that… it can't be hidden by a biodamper!"

Everything went to hell then. Apparently it was too late to make an escape. The robo-mercenaries had already surrounded the place and taken over the Christmas tree through remote control, injuring a lot of people. After the initial attack was over the Doctor cleverly used his screwdriver and the party's sound system to disable the robots.

The Doctor grabbed one of the robot's heads and declared that someone's taken possession of them, and that there's still a signal from the point of origin. Then he ran outside to try and pinpoint it. Rose was right at his heels.

"Robo-scavengers. Killer Christmas trees. _And_ someone from Gallifrey feeling a bit ill. All that's missing now is a spacecraft over London with hostile aliens, and it'll be just like last Christmas." Rose sighed.

"Ooh!" The Doctor picked up a signal and he raised his screwdriver over his head. "It's up there. Something in the sky." He declared in amusement.

"_Please_ tell me it's an alien spacecraft with hostile invaders." Rose bounced on the balls of her feet in excitement.

"You're completely mad!" Donna gasped. "Who on earth would actually _want_ that?!"

"I've lost the signal!" The Doctor yelled suddenly in frustration. "Donna, we're gonna have to get into your office. H.C. Clements is where it all started." He said it all very quickly. "Lance! Can you give me a lift?" He turned to Donna's fiancée suddenly, taking the poor man by surprise. He didn't wait for Lance to recover but took off running again.

* * *

They all piled up into Donna's mini. That meant there was very little room for the Doctor and Rose in the back, so Rose had to practically sit in her husband's lap.

"Not exactly a chase, is it?" The Doctor complained over Donna's slow driving.

"Oi, there's a speed limit. I'm not going to jail in my wedding dress." Donna replied crisply.

"It's like driving a hand dryer." The Doctor commented as he looked around the tiny car.

"Don't be rude." Rose giggled.

"What are you so happy about?" The Doctor asked his wife, annoyed by her food mood.

"I'm comfortable." Rose replied and wiggled in his lap to emphasize her point.

"_Oh_." The Doctor's eyes widened, just realizing the position he and his wife were in.

"No making babies on my back seat, Martians!" Donna shouted from behind the wheel.

"How did you know!?" Rose mock gasped dramatically.

"_Roooose!_" The Doctor whined in embarrassment and buried his face in his hands.

"What?!" Donna gaped.

"Kidding! Just kidding." Rose giggled.

The rest of the trip was rather uneventful, aside from a 'speed bump' that made Rose bounce in the Doctor's lap, making him even more uncomfortable.

* * *

The group entered H.C. Clements building.

"To you lot this may just be a locksmith's, but it was bought up 23 years ago by Torchwood Institute." The Doctor made his way to a computer.

"Who are they?" Donna asked.

"They were behind the battle of Canary Wharf." The Doctor explained grimly only to receive a blank look from Donna.

"Cybermen invasion?" Nothing. "Skies over London full of Daleks?"

"I was in Spain." Donna shrugged.

"They had cybermen in Spain."

"Scuba diving."

"Wow." Rose said. "I've never thought of the ability to stay oblivious as a talent before. But _that's_ impressive."

The Doctor went back to the computer. "Torchwood was mostly destroyed, so its investments were pretty open to hostile takeover. So the question is: who took over H.C Clements?"

"What do they want with me?" Donna asked, concerned.

The Doctor explained about the huon energy planted inside Donna and how it magnetized with the TARDIS. Donna barely comprehended his super-fast babble. The Doctor went back to the computer and used his sonic screwdriver to unlock secret files. He must've found what he was looking for because his eyes lit up.

"In the official floor plans it says there's a basement underneath the reception on the ground floor, _but_ how come there's a button in the lift that says 'lower basement'?" He stated as he opened the doors to a lift and pointed out the seemingly innocent button.

"Are you telling me this building has a secret floor?!" Lance asked with his eyebrows raised.

"Nope. I'm _showing_ you." The Doctor grinned maniacally.

"It needs a key." Donna pointed out.

"I don't." The Doctor pointed his screwdriver at the button and it reacted.

"Alright then. Thanks you two. We can take it from here (Rose skipped into the lift). See you later." He said jovially.

"No chance Martians. You keep saving my life. There's no way I'm letting you out my sight."

"Brilliant." Rose beamed at Donna.

The Doctor smirked. It seems his wife was really taking a shine to the spunky redhead.

"Lance!" Donna sent her fiancée a pointed look.

"Uh," Lance hesitated. "Maybe I should go get the police."

"_Inside_" Donna left no room for argument.

Lance obeyed.

"To honor and obey?" The Doctor jested.

"Rude." Rose elbowed her husband, but Lance only shook his head.

"Yeah, tell me about it, mate." He sighed.

"Oi." Donna protested.

Rose linked his arm with Donna's.

The lift descended to an ominous underground basement and they started exploring. It went rather fun as the Doctor found segways to ride on. Always up for trying new things, of course he insisted on riding them. They came to a stop before a heavy door that had a Torchwood logo and an 'AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY' sign on it. The Doctor loved those doors. Loved getting in them, anyway.

He was a bit surprised to find a ladder.

"Alright, you lot stay here. I'm gonna have look. _Don't_ do anything. And make sure Rose doesn't wander off, alright?"

"Hey!" Rose protested and the Doctor kissed her cheek quickly and made his way up the ladder.

A few minutes later he was back down again, claiming they were under the Thames flood barrier. After that was over they explored on and stumbled upon a secret laboratory. The Doctor looked like a kid in a candy store.

"What's it do?" Donna asked as she took in all the equipment.

"Particle extrusion." The Doctor replied, not taking his eyes off the gizmos. "They've been manufacturing huon particles! … 'Course, my people got rid of huon particles: they unravel the atomic structure." He almost mumbled the last part.

"Your people?" Lance asked, slightly confused, and more than a little suspicious. "Who are they? What company do you represent?"

"Oh, I'm a freelancer." The Doctor dismissed. "But this lot- rebuilding them… They've been using the river!" He exclaimed gleefully. "Extruding them through a flat hydrogen base so they've got the end result: huon particles in liquid form" He took a vial of finished product.

Donna took a step closer. "And that's what's inside me?" She asked nervously.

The Doctor turned the vial a bit and the liquid inside started glowing golden, and so did Donna… and Rose. All blood drained from the Doctor's face as he took in his wife. Unlike Donna, who was glowing all over, Rose glowed in a very orderly fashion. There were thin vines that outlined her brain and ran down from the back of her neck like a small river, creating a web of other little rivers all the way to tips of her fingers and toes. It looked like the huon energy was nestled snugly in her nervous system.

"That's impossible" The Doctor gasped. "I took that out of you."

"Must've missed a spot." Rose commented as she studied at her hands tensely.

"A spot? That's not a spot! What sort of Martian are you? Not noticing something so off with your own wife? What chance do I have?" Donna panicked.

"Donna, it's alright! I'll take care of this, I promise." The Doctor tried to calm her down.

"It better not be the same way you 'took care' of me. You ended up dead! Luckily not permanently, but still…" Rose complained and crossed her arms.

"_Dead_?" Donna gasped.

"Exactly. I took the energy in my self, and it killed me in less than a minute… I need to get it out of you." The Doctor argued.

"And _I've_ had it at least a year and I'm still kicking." Rose argued back.

"Hold on. Wait a minute!" Donna cut in the squabbling couple. "Did you say that this kills?" She asked with fear evident in her voice.

The Doctor's face turned grim.

"I promise you Donna, I'll fix you. Lance is not going to lose you." He added the last part jokingly as an attempt to cheer Donna up a bit.

"_Oh, she is long since lost_." A distinctly hissing female voice said over the intercom

They all looked up instinctively, futilely trying to pinpoint where the sound was coming from.

A wall started to rise up, revealing a… massive gaping hole in the middle of the room. All the while the female voice did her standard villain monologue. The old stuff about 'waiting so long to blah blah' etc. Suddenly they were surrounded by robo-mercenaries (this time in black monk robes, not Santas) who all pointed their guns at them. Lance was able to make a break for it unnoticed.

The Doctor strolled forward casually and looked into the big hole. "Someone's been digging." He stated the obvious like he had not a care in the world. "Ooh, very Torchwood. Drilled by laser. How far down does it go?" He asked curiously, his tone rather light.

"_Down and down. All the way to the center of the Earth!_" The voice declared Dramatically.

Rose peeked over the edge. It was so deep she couldn't see the end. It may very well have been dug all the way down.

"Really?" The Doctor asked, somewhat frazzled. "Seriously, what for?"

"Dinosaurs!" Donna suggested.

"Alternate way of reaching China?" Rose added her own two cents.

Doctor looked at the two women. "Not helping, but interesting theories." He grinned in amusement.

"_Such a fun group._" The voice mocked.

"Only a madman talks to thin air! And trust me you don't wanna make me mad! Where are you?" The Doctor talked to think air.

"_High in the sky! Floating so high, on Christmas night!_" The voice declared and Rose slapped her forehead with a groan.

"Why does she have to be so melodramatic?" She complained. "It sounds ridiculous."

The Doctor sent her an amused glance.

"We didn't come all this way to talk on an intercom! Come on! Let's have a look at you!" He goaded the voice.

"_Who are you with such command?"_

"I'm the Doctor."

"_Prepare your best medicines, Doctor-man, for you will be sick at heart!_"

"See, that's exactly what I was talking… about… _Oh_." Rose started with an eye roll, but froze up a bit as the owner of the voice teleported into the room.

"That has got to be the biggest spider I've ever seen." Rose whispered to Donna who was gaping at the giant red spider.

"Racnoss…" the Doctor gasped as he stared at the spider as dumbfounded as Donna. "That's impossible. You're one of the Racnoss!"

"Empress of the Racnoss!" The spider lady declared proudly.

The Doctor furrowed his brow. "If you're the empress, where's the rest of the Racnoss… _or_…" the Doctor's eyes lit up in comprehension. "… are you the only one?"

"Such a sharp mind." The empress confirmed.

The Doctor turned to Donna and Rose to explain how the Racnoss lived in their time and how they were supposed to be destroyed.

Suddenly the group noticed Lance sneaking up to the empress with an axe. Way to go Lance! Donna took it upon herself to distract the Racnoss with demands to know how she fit into her plan. Lance lifted his axe and was just about to bring it down on her, when he stopped and started laughing.

Rose was confused until the empress joined him in laughter.

Rose's eyes darkened dangerously and she took Donna hand, who in turn was too confused to even notice. The Doctor turned to Donna as well.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

Donna just looked even more confused.

"How did you meet him?" The Doctor asked, his tone very mild.

"At the office." Donna replied distractedly.

"He made you coffee." The Doctor specified.

"_What_?" Donna concentrated on him now.

"You had to be dosed with liquid particles over six months."

"He was poisoning me…" Donna stated in shock. "But… we were getting married." She whispered weakly.

"I couldn't risk you running off." Lance scoffed. "I had to say yes. And then I was stuck with a woman who thinks the height of excitement is a new flavor Pringle!"

"There's a new flavor Pringle?" Rose blinked.

Lance was about to rant on but Rose's comment made him gape at her.

"Er, time and place, luv." The Doctor whispered.

"Oh right, sorry." Rose whispered, a bit embarrassed by her blonde moment.

"What _are_ you, anyway? Her consort?" The Doctor spoke up, glaring at Lance with scorn.

"It's better than a night with _her_." Lance stated meanly and pointed at Donna.

"Eww! That's just gross." Rose wrinkled her nose. "You spend your nights with a murderer?"

"You're more disturbed that she's a murderer than that she's a spider?" Donna blinked at Rose.

"Human race has mated with weirder." Rose shrugged nonchalantly and Donna shuddered.

The empress hissed "Who are this little physician and his flower?" She asked Lance.

"She said Martians." Lance said smugly.

_Why am I included_? Rose cocked her head.

"Uhm, we're sort of homeless. Anyway, the point is: what's down here?" The Doctor directed the conversation back to the hole. "The Racnoss are extinct. What's gonna help you four thousand miles down? That's just the molten core of the Earth, isn't it?"

The Racnoss didn't feel like talking and instead ordered her robo-mercenaries to take aim.

"Well, I just want to point out the obvious." The Doctor backpedaled quickly. "If you think about it, the particles activated in Donna and drew her inside my spaceship. So, reverse it... the spaceship comes to her." The Doctor took out the vial and turned it a bit. Rose and Donna lit up and the TARDIS materialized around them.

The Doctor went to the console and started piloting away immediately.

"Hey, Donna, do you remember when we talked about a time machine? Well, we do have one, and we're gonna use it now."

But heartbroken Donna was paying precious little attention to the Doctor. Rose put her arms around her in comfort and the redhead broke down. The Doctor was standing straight, feeling a bit out of his depth; he had never been very good at comforting crying females. Luckily Rose waved him off and mouthed 'I've got this' with a nod.

Rose led Donna to sit on the jumpseat so she could have a nice long comfortable cry.

"You're lucky, you are." Donna blubbered. "Married to a decent bloke like the Doctor. Bet it's all sunshine and rainbows for you."

"Nothing's ever sunshine and rainbows." Rose shook her head, remembering Reinette. "But I guess I am pretty lucky."

"God, you'll never want to feel like this." Donna sniffled and rubbed her eyes.

"I _have_ felt like that." Rose shook her head.

"You have?"

"I was barely sixteen then. Met this dashing young musician- Jimmy Stone. I thought he was my everything. I dropped everything just to be with him. Quit school to run off with him and his 'band'. Had my mother worried sick. He promised me the world, make me famous with him. In the end I was merely a pretty little accessory, to be dragged around like luggage and discarded once a new and improved model came along." She smiled.

"Yeah? What happened then?"

"I swallowed my pride and went back to mum. She scuffed me over the head and hugged me, telling me to never do something as stupid as that again." Rose laughed. "Never got my A-levels because of that prick, so I went to work in a shop. Didn't do much else for years until…" Rose glanced at her husband with a small smile, who had been listening in on the conversation with rapt attention.

"A-levels, huh? Didn't know aliens were so similar to humans." Donna dried the last of her tears.

"I _am_ human." Rose corrected and Donna nearly fell off her seat.

"_What?_ Why didn't say anything? I asked if you were an alien!"

"I thought you were just talking about the Doctor!" Rose defended.

Donna started laughing, a bit hysterically, but there was definitely some amusement in it.

"Right!" The Doctor cut in. "We've arrived. Want to see?"

"Where are we?"

"Further back than any human has ever been."

The Doctor took a look at the monitor and frowned. "The scanner's a bit small. Maybe Donna's way is the best." He strolled to the doors and threw them open.

Rose and Donna went to the doors as well. "Welcome to the creation of the Earth." The Doctor declared to the two breathless women. Then he proceeded to his usual trivia about the creation.

Suddenly a Racnoss spaceship floated into their line of sight and started pulling rocks, dust and elements towards it.

"_Ohh_!" The doctor exclaimed in excitement. "They didn't just bury something at the center of the Earth. They _became_ the center of the Earth. The first rock!"

Suddenly the TARDIS shook.

"What's happening?" Donna gasped as she almost fell out of the ship.

"Trouble." The Doctor replied grimly and ran back to the console. Rose closed the doors and followed her husband around the controls. Donna just held on to the railings in an attempt not to fall over.

"What the hell is it doing?!" Donna screeched over the roar and jerking the TARDIS was doing.

"That little trick of mine, particles-pulling-particles, it also works in reverse. They're pulling us back."

"What? Through time?!" Rose gasped.

"Afraid so. Ooh!" The Doctor found the extrapolator near Rose's feet.

"What are you going to do with that extrapolator? A shield?"

"Nope. A bump!"

The Doctor took a moment and then hit the extrapolator with his mallet. Then he ran out of the ship, followed closely by Rose and Donna.

"We're about 200 yards to the right! Move!"

The Doctor ran to a vaulted door and pulled a stethoscope from his pocked and started listening.

"What do we do?" Donna gasped, a bit breathless.

"I dunno. I make it up as I go along. But trust me, I've got history."

"Like several hundred years worth of history. Literally." Rose added.

"Hell of an age gap, if you're _really_ human." Donna commented.

"Oi! I am!"

"Anyway, there's still what I don't understand: I'm full of particles, but what for?"

The Doctor launched into an explanation about the Racnoss power source, but neither Rose nor Donna were able to finish listening as they were ambushed and gagged by robo-mercenaries and dragged away, leaving the Doctor to finish his techno-babble alone.

The pair of women were manhandled into a web and hung above the big hole along with Lance.

"I _hate_ you!" Donna snarled at Lance.

"I think we've gone a _bit_ beyond that now, sweetheart." Lance replied sarcastically.

"Hey, did you spin this web yourself?" Rose asked curiously as she looked around the silky white and a bit sticky material they were all wrapped in.

"Yeesh, yes I did." The empress said proudly.

"Seriously Rose, time and place!" Donna complained.

"What other time do I get to ask a giant carnivorous spider about their webs than when I'm tangled in it myself?" Rose asked innocently.

"The Martian-flower amuses me." The empress crooned. "And my golden couple! Together at last: your awful wedded life. Tell me, do you want to be released?"

"Yes!" Donna and Lance yelled in unison.

"Not into _that_ I don't!" Rose shook her head and looked at the dark cavernous hole underneath them.

The empress laughed hoarsely. "Activate the particles. Purge every last one!"

The trio started glowing, Donna the brightest, Lance a little bit, and Rose in an orderly fashion. At the empress's order Lance's and Donna's particles shot into the hole, but Rose's remained stubbornly where they were.

"What is this?" The empress frowned. "Release!" She commanded, but still nothing happened.

"Increase the settings! Unlock the secret heart! _Release_!" She hissed in frustration.

This time the particles lurched downward, but they didn't leave Rose's body. Instead they seemed to drag her with them. Rose grabbed on hold of the web frantically.

"The huon energy's a part of me! You can't separate us. If I die so will it!" Rose bluffed a bit desperately, she really didn't want to fall into that hole.

The empress hissed in an ill-mannered way. "No matter. My children awaken from their sleep of ages! They will be hungry. Perish the web!"

"Use her, not me! Use her!" Lance started screaming in panic, but the empress only cackled at him and with a motion of her claw the web ripped and Lance fell into the hole. Rose very nearly followed after him, but fortunately she already had a firm grip of the web. She and Donna watched in horror as Lance disappeared into the depth.

"My children are climbing towards me and none shall stop them!" She turned towards a random robo-mercenary. "So you may as well unmask, my clever little Doctor-man." She said to it.

"Ah, well. Nice try." The Doctor shrugged as he took off the robe and the robot's face. He wasted no time in taking out his screwdriver and pointing it towards the web. The web started ripping.

"I'm gonna fall!" Donna wailed in panic.

"We're gonna swing! Just hold on." Rose shouted just as the last of the web gave away and the pair swung towards the Doctor like Tarzan and Jane.

They landed a bit roughly- first faceplanting against a wall, then falling into a heap on the floor.

"Ooh… Sorry." The Doctor winced as he looked at the pair.

"_Thanks for nothing_!" Donna growled, while Rose was giggling like she was having the time of her life.

"You're bonkers." Donne scowled at Rose.

"You get used to it." Rose grinned at her friend.

"The Doctor-man amuses me too." The empress laughed with a hiss.

"Empress of the Racnoss." The Doctor started, his tone formal. "I give you one last chance. I can find you a planet. I can find you _and_ your children a place in the universe to coexist. Take that offer and end this now."

"I'm afraid I'll have to decline." The empress laughed.

"I recommend you to reconsider." Rose spoke up, her tone grim.

Donna looked at the Doctor and Rose, whose complete change from playful disposition to serious determination unnerved her more than a little.

"Then what happens next is your own doing." The Doctor stated, his expression dark.

"I'll show _you_ what happens next!" The empress hissed, no longer as amused by the pair. She called on her robo-mercenaries and told them to take aim, but they all switched off as the Doctor ordered them to 'relax'. The empress was not daunted.

"Robo-forms are not necessary." She declared. "My children may feast on Martian flesh."

"Oh, but I'm not from Mars." The Doctor denied, confusing the Racnoss slightly.

"Then where?" She asked curiously.

"My home planet is far away and long since gone. But its name lives on: Gallifrey."

That got a reaction out of the empress. She reared up furiously and her hisses became so deep they actually sounded like growls.

"They _murdered_ the Racnoss!" She frothed in rage.

The Doctor didn't react to her anger, only looking at her with pity. "I warned you. _You_ did this."

The Doctor pulled out the explosive Christmas tree baubles. When had he snatched those? The Doctor used the explosives to destabilize weak points of the structure, letting water from Thames flood in. All the while the empress was screaming and pleading for the Doctor to stop. When the hole started to fill up with water she stopped pleading the Doctor and crying out for her children as they were drowned.

"Oh no. It's one of those." Rose winced as she glanced at her husband. "Come on, Donna." She took the redhead by the hand and dragged her up the stairs. Once she was next to the Doctor she grabbed him by the arm. The Doctor jumped and looked at her, slightly startled.

"Let's go." Rose told him softly and he nodded.

* * *

The Doctor used the vial and Rose's huon particles to call the TARDIS to them and flew them out of there. They materialized in front of Donna's house.

"You should get inside and into something warm. You've been running around in a sleeveless dress all day in the middle of winter. Don't want ya to catch a cold." Rose advised.

The Doctor scanned Donna with his screwdriver.

"Aside from that, you're completely particle free. No damage." He grinned, but Donna remained a bit somber.

"Yeah… But apart from that I missed my own wedding, lost my job and became a widow all in one day… sort of." Donna glanced at Rose. "Well, Rose's tragedy led her to you, so I guess there's still hope for me." She said with a small grin.

"There you go. Always the silver lining." The Doctor grinned and put an arm around his wife.

"I'd better get inside." Donna glanced at her house. "They'll be worried."

"Best Christmas present they could have." The Doctor said as he spied Donna's family through the window. "Oh right, you hate Christmas."

"_Yes_, I do." Donna said a bit forcefully.

The Doctor grinned mischievously. "Even if it snows?"

He pointed his screwdriver at the top of the TARDIS and it shot out a white burst of light. Suddenly it was snowing! Donna and Rose laughed in delight.

"Merry Christmas." Donna said a bit more laid back after she had stopped laughing.

"Merry Christmas to you too." Rose smiled and the Doctor nodded.

"So… what will you do with yourself now?" Doctor ventured.

"Not getting married for starters. Think I'll be a bit more careful about that aspect from now on. How long did you two know each other before tying the knot, anyway?"

"Two years." They both said at once.

Donna smiled. "Guess I'll try to follow that example. _Oh,_ and I'm not gonna temp any more. I think I'll travel. See a bit more of planet Earth. Y'know, walk in the dust and all that jazz."

Rose and the Doctor shared a look.

"_Weelll_, you could always…" He started.

"…come with us?" She finished hopefully.

Donna shook her head with a smile. "No."

"Oh." The Doctor looked down and Rose pouted.

"I can't." Donna started.

"It's okay." The Doctor smiled tenderly.

"No, but really. Everything we've been through today… You live like that all the time."

"Not _all_ the time." The couple protested.

"I think you do." Donna shook her head. "And I couldn't."

"I think you could." Rose disagreed. "I used to be just an ordinary shop girl, remember?"

Donna giggled. "Tell you what, though. Christmas dinner! Oh come on, you might as well. Mum always cooks enough for twenty."

The Doctor wrinkled his nose a bit, but then turned to Rose. It was all up to her.

Rose shook her head. "Thanks Donna, I'm not really in the mood for Christmas right now. Maybe we'll pop by next Christmas once the mood strikes."

"Not in the mood for Christmas?" Donna blinked.

"Time machine." She grinned back and pointed a thumb at the TARDIS.

"Ah. Right."

Donna smiled a bit sadly. "Am I ever gonna see you again?"

"If we're lucky." The Doctor replied.

"Look after one another." Donna sighed. "You make Rose so happy and she makes sure you don't go over the edge. What you did back at the lab… blimey, that look scared me to death."

Rose gave Donna a hug. "Bye Donna." She said.

"Bye Rose, take care."

Donna went inside and Rose and the Doctor went back into the TARDIS.

_That friend of yours. What was her name? ... Her name was Rose._

"Rose? Rose?!"

"Huh? What?"

"Are you alright, you sort of spaced out there."

"I'm fine, Doctor. Now, weren't we sort of in the middle of something before Donna rained in?" Rose bit her lower lip flirtatiously, but the Doctor wasn't having it.

"We're going straight to the med bay." He said seriously

"What?"

"I don't know how or why you still have huon energy in your system. Rose, my people got rid of it because it was _deadly_. I would never forgive myself if I let anything happen to you."

"Fine." Rose sighed. "Guess the honeymoon's cancelled."

"Who said that?" The Doctor asked, his tone regaining some of its usual playfulness. "It's only a bit postponed. And the sooner we figure things out…"

Rose's eyes lit up. "Well, what are we waiting for?"

* * *

**Hey, did anyone else notice that originally the Doctor left the TARDIS in a place that flooded? About 200 yards to the **_**right,**_** not **_**up**_**. How did he get back to it? The Doctor did say that 'she'll be alright' but **_**how**_** did they get back to it?!**

**Anyway next chapter I'll explain what's up with Rose. However I've hinted to it in **_**all **_**three of my chapters. In the first chapter the hint is in one of Eleven's sentences, but you have to combine it with one from this chapter to make any sense of it. Think you could figure it out?**

**Thanks for Reading**

**Feedback Always Appreciated**


	4. Answers

**Disclaimer: It would be a bit creepy if I did own Doctor Who, considering the show's older than my own mother.**

**A/N: You're either going to love me or hate my guts after this one. Some of you may find this somewhat disturbing, however I think this makes perfect sense. But seriously what else could 'I create myself' mean?**

**Slight apology: I would've updated a few days ago, but I got a bit sick and then the Internet decided it wanted to take a stroll away from my computer.**

* * *

"How long is this going to take, Doctor?" Rose whined as the Doctor shined some light in her eye and examined her pupil reaction.

So far she had been patient as the Doctor took samples of her blood, hair, skin and saliva. He hadn't said much as he ran them through some machines and under a scope. All the Doctor did during his examination was frown, shake his head and occasionally mumble incoherently. By the look of things he wasn't getting desired results- or perhaps _any_ results.

And Rose's patience was really starting to wear thin. Plus the Doctor's atypical silence was unnerving.

"I don't know." The Doctor sighed. "All these tests make no sense." He admitted.

"Well, what have we got so far?"

"Well… as far as I can tell… there's absolutely nothing wrong with you." The Doctor frowned.

"Isn't that supposed to be a good thing?" Rose raised en eyebrow.

"Except, it _doesn't make any sense_. You're not _supposed _to be alright, especially not _this_ alright. Not with the huon particles living in your nervous system." The Doctor burst in frustration suddenly. "Huon particles have the unfortunate effect of unraveling the atomic structure, yet there's not even a _trace_ of any cellular decay _whatsoever_ anywhere in your system at all. By this data you're not even _aging_ properly."

Rose gaped. "What?!"

"The only thing in the universe capable of harnessing huon energy without perishing is a… well, a TARDIS."

"Are you saying I'm a TARDIS now? What, will I turn into a blue box or something?" Rose scoffed.

The Doctor was not even a little amused.

"That's the chameleon circuit being broken. TARDISes can adapt to their environment, either for fitting in or plain survival."

"And they're machines. Kind of organic and sentient yes, but still machines." Rose nodded.

"Actually…" The Doctor started. "There was a flesh and blood TARDIS once."

"What, really?" Rose was surprised.

"Uh, yeah. She used to be a –er, human… sort of, that kind of evolved into a TARDIS. I'm a bit embarrassed to admit I played a large part in that."

"What was her name?"

"Compassion." The Doctor's tone was affectionate. Obviously she had been close to him.

"So…" Rose started carefully. "I've evolved into a TARDIS too?"

The Doctor looked at Rose with surprise for a moment then jumped up and re-examined his data.

"Hmm…" He started thoughtfully, while tapping his chin. "Going by that… It actually makes a _bit_ more sense. On the other hand, it does not." He concluded.

"What do you mean?" Rose shook her head in confusion. The Doctor wasn't making any sense.

"Compassion turned into a full-fledged TARDIS, but you… it's like you _are_ a TARDIS, but… not _quite_."

"I'm not following." Rose admitted bluntly.

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair in frustration. Then an idea seemed to strike him.

"When Compassion changed… her mental facilities evolved as well. She once tried to mentally connect to a pair of humans, practically knocked them off their feet by accident. As a human she couldn't even begin to fathom being able to do that. May I…?" The Doctor ended and gestured at her temples.

"Of course." Rose nodded without hesitation.

"Are you sure? This is extremely personal." The Doctor asked, wanting to be sure.

"You're my husband." Rose rolled her eyes. "I don't think we can get much more personal, but if we can: go for it."

The Doctor's lips twitched. _Just wait until we'll consummate our marriage._ He thought impishly.

He sat down in front of Rose and placed his fingers on her temples.

"_Oh!_" Rose gasped in delighted surprise. "I can feel you in my head." She giggled.

"Yah, sorry I'll try to be as qui-"

"No, it's alright, I don't mind it. It's like the TARDIS, but… um, less platonic, I think."

"Eh…?" The Doctor wasn't entirely sure how to respond to this. Digging around someone's head wasn't supposed to be a comfortable thing. You're laid bare before someone, and the feeling of nakedness _should_ be rather discomforting.

"Wait a minute, did you just say you feel me like you feel the _**TARDIS**_?" The Doctor removed his hands in shock and stared at Rose.

"Yes." Rose stated as if it should've been obvious. "Am I not supposed to?"

"No." The Doctor replied immediately. "Humans are not sensitive to her presence like that. They _can_ feel _something_, but not the way you just said you do."

"Oh." Rose said, surprised.

"When did it first start? After you took in the heart of TARDIS?"

"No." Rose shook her head. "I've always felt her, ever since I stepped through her doors. Not as strongly at first, but I think she was just holding herself back so she wouldn't scare me off."

"This is such a puzzle." The Doctor stated and put his hands back to her temples. Rose couldn't hold back a small giggle.

"What is _this_?" The Doctor exclaimed in surprise as he got a good look around her mind.

It was very neat for a human mind, which were usually rather cluttered. Usually, but not always. There were some exceptions that had very organized minds, like Einstein, and Rose apparently. The neatness of her mind wasn't what surprised him. It was a bit unusual but still a normal human mind. What shocked him was that _beyond_ the borders of her normal human mind was _more_. And it was _all_ locked up.

"Wow, that's a _lot_ of closed doors." Rose commented.

"Wait, you can see this?" The Doctor gasped.

The surprises kept on piling up today.

"Let me guess: I'm not supposed to?" Rose sighed.

"A normal human wouldn't." The Doctor mumbled.

"Then I guess I'm either not normal, human, or both." Rose commented airily.

She tried to open one of the doors outside the normal-zone, but found it wouldn't budge. "It's locked." She stated the obvious.

"Probably better off that way." The Doctor said. "If all these doors were to open, you'd overload and shut down."

"I'd turn into a vegetable?"

"Exactly."

"Then, why are these doors here in the first place? What's behind them?" Rose asked.

"I haven't the faintest idea." The Doctor frowned and went to a random unassuming locked door. He gave it a strong mental nudge and it unlocked, he turned the handle carefully and immediately Rose screamed out in pain and surprise. At once the Doctor pulled back from the door. The lock jumped back in place.

"That hurt you?" The Doctor asked in concern.

"Yeah." Rose frowned. "It also feels like it's forbidden. Locked away for a reason."

"I have no idea what to make out of this." The Doctor admitted with a scowl.

"What about this door?" Rose asked and pointed out a huge double-door that was emanating a golden light. It was closed, but it was unlocked. What more, it was slap bang in the middle of Rose's 'normal-zone'.

"How the bloody hell did I miss _that_?!" The Doctor shouted. Now that he looked at it, it was more glaringly obvious than a sparkling disco-queen at a 19th century funeral.

"You didn't see it?" Rose giggled.

"Not until you pointed it out to me, no. It's like… it was hidden under a perception filter." The Doctor gasped.

"Another thing I shouldn't be able to do?" Rose rolled her eyes behind her closed lids.

"No, and I'm pretty sure you also _didn't_. Perception filter is not something you can _accidentally_ place. No, I think this may have been the TARDIS, or something else, maybe."

The Doctor moved towards the door and reached out only to get shocked. He pulled back immediately.

"How curious. Rose, try to open it."

"What's in there?" Rose hesitated.

"I don't know, but I think whatever it is it'll answer our questions."

Rose reached out and hesitantly put her hands on the handles. She paused for a moment, but as she wasn't shocked she slowly turned the handles and gently opened the doors. As the mental doors were opened a couple of inches they suddenly burst fully open on their own.

The Doctor was physically ejected from Rose's mind and flung across the room.

"Rose!" The Doctor called out in alarm.

Rose wasn't paying her husband any mind however. Instead she was glowing a brilliant gold, and she was wearing an absolutely blissful smile on her lips. The Doctor suddenly heard the TARDIS's lullaby. She only ever sang it to him when he was at his loneliest or when his nightmares or conscience came to torture him as he was trying to sleep.

The Doctor rushed to Rose and grabbed her by her shoulder. "Rose? Can you hear me?" He asked urgently. Then he realized the lullaby was not only sung by his TARDIS but his wife too. That should be impossible in so many different ways.

Suddenly Rose inhaled, but it didn't sound like a normal human-like inhale. It sounded like the TARDIS dematerializing, the metallic grinding. But not _exactly_ like his TARDIS, instead it was a pitch or two higher.

All of a sudden it stopped, and Rose looked into the Doctor's eyes lovingly.

"Rose?" The Doctor said hesitantly.

She just smiled and kissed him. The Doctor jumped back.

"Rose, are you alright? What was that just now?"

"I'm just fine, my Doctor. Mum just explained everything."

The Doctor blinked, utterly lost. "Mum?" He echoed.

Rose nodded serenely. Suddenly she sat up straight and her eyes widened. "Oh!" She gasped out and dissolved into giggles.

"_Rose!?_" The Doctor moaned in distress. "What's going on?"

"I'm just happy." Rose replied.

"Happy?" The Doctor raised an eyebrow.

"I just realized I got to kiss you when you were still wearing leather."

"Wait, what? _What_?! You… you remember that?"

Rose nodded enthusiastically and leaned over fully intending to kiss him again, but the Doctor pulled back.

"Rose, do you understand what's going on?" He asked in concern.

"Of course." Rose nodded.

"Okay. Good, because I'm completely in the dark here." The Doctor complained, scared and confounded.

"Oh, right!" Rose chuckled. "I forgot."

The Doctor made an annoyed noise in the back of his throat then sighed.

"So, what happened to you, Rose?"

"Nothing. I'm exactly the same as I ever was." Rose replied simply.

"What? But-but the huon-"

"It was already there when I was born."

…

"_What?!_"

"Alright! Alright! Doctor, do you remember when I took in the entire time vortex in Game Station?"

"Of course I do."

"Well… the thing is you're not the only one who became lonely when Gallifrey burned. All of mu- the TARDIS's sisters died too."

The Doctor winced but nodded, encouraging Rose to go on.

"So, to fix that she had a baby… Me."

The Doctor blinked at Rose in shock. "Huh?" Was his most intelligent reply.

"It's like this… she used that moment we bonded as a catalyst and placed her essence inside the womb of a woman with a barren husband- that's Pete and Jackie. It's like a dandelion, letting her seed pod into the air, so it could land and be nurtured in soil somewhere. Jackie and Pete were my soil, giving their genes like soil gives minerals to the dandelion. According to a DNA test I'm every bit their daughter, but they weren't the ones who conceived me. That'd be your TARDIS. I'm her daughter, and a TARDIS myself."

The Doctor stared at her wide eyed. Then he coughed dryly. "That's…" He started, but couldn't seem to find words.

"Doctor?" Rose said hesitantly. It just dawned on her that the Doctor might not like this, that he might reject her. But then the Doctor started laughing loudly, laughing so deeply that he got tears in his eyes.

"That's… **brilliant**. Just simply and utterly brilliant." He turned to look at the ceiling. "You naughty, mischievous girl, you." He wagged his finger at the TARDIS.

He then turned to Rose. "And _you_, my little circular paradox…" He smiled affectionately and leaned to kiss her, Rose leaned in as well, but before their lips could touch the Doctor jumped up.

"Oh!" He exclaimed, his eyes shining. He rushed back to the screen and looked at Rose's DNA again. "_Aha_! Knew it!" He smirked triumphantly.

"What is it?" Rose asked.

"That soil metaphor you used- I don't think you even know how accurate you were with it. See- come look at this."

Rose got off the examination table and towards the screen. "What am I looking at?" She asked.

The Doctor grinned "This is your DNA helix structure. Looks like normal human at first glance, but…"

He pointed to specific point of the double helix, which glinted with a third strand at times.

"What is that?" Rose asked, fascinated by her own DNA.

"Time Lord TNA." The Doctor explained, sounding oddly smug. "I'm guessing you started changing your physical form the first moment you were away from anything human. And since TARDISes are designed to fit in wherever they are you started taking on the form that you were around of the most: me."

Rose raised an eyebrow. "So, I'm turning into a Time Lady?"

"Yes and no." The Doctor replied. "You will be what you've always have been- a TARDIS, but you're eventually going to take on the _form_ of a Time Lady. I mean if you scan your ol' mum on the outside you're going to get honest to god 'wood', but she's still a TARDIS."

Rose nodded in comprehension. "Are you alright with this?"

"More than alright." The Doctor smiled. "This means I haven't done anything to you. It's all you, my precious girls."

"Clear conscience." Rose nodded sagely and the Doctor shoved her playfully.

"Oh!" The Doctor's eyes widened and he turned back to the screen. "Of course." He smiled.

"What? Another epiphany about me?" Rose asked jokingly.

"Yes." The Doctor replied bluntly. "This is the difference I saw between you and Compassion. She turned into a TARDIS as an adult, but you were born as one. You've barely lived for two decades, that's _barely_ a toddler in terms of TARDIS's maturity! If even that." The Doctor scowled suddenly. "Dear lord, I'm a cradle robber!"

Rose laughed. "I may be a baby in terms of TARDIS's age, but I have the form of a human, and that's mature enough in every other way."

The Doctor shook his head. "As long as your mother doesn't kill me over it."

"It's alright, she doesn't mind sharing you with me." Rose smiled, her tongue in her cheek.

"Share me?" The Doctor blinked, a bit uncomprehending.

"Oh course!" Rose nodded. "You were married to her before me." She stated as if that should be obvious.

"Uh…" The Doctor blinked. "Technically speaking." He said, a bit hesitant.

Rose smiled and leaned in. "That's good. We don't mind sharing you." Suddenly she pulled back, her brow furrowed. "But **only** with each other. No one else can have you." She puffed her cheeks petulantly, looking so cute the Doctor couldn't help but smile.

"My wives: mother and daughter." The Doctor expression turned disturbed. "Oh, that sounds so wrong when said out loud like that."

"Doctor?"

"Hmm?"

"Are we done here?"

"Ah, yes. I suppose we are."

"Then… didn't you promise me something after you had gotten your answers?"

The Doctor's posture turned rigid and his eyes gained a devilish twinkle.

"Oh yes." He growled lowly and threw Rose over his shoulder and ran out of the med bay.

* * *

That night held surprises for both Rose and the Doctor. Rose really wasn't expecting her mind to connect with the Doctor's the way it did. The combined physical stimulation she received from her own pleasure as well as the Doctor's overwhelmed her for a moment, but she adjusted to it rather fast.

On the other hand the Doctor wasn't expecting to feel the presence of the TARDIS through Rose during their copulation. It turned their experience into some sort of mental threesome, which would've been very disturbing, had it not felt so _right_. Also, with their minds melded like that, the Doctor knew for a fact that both Rose and the TARDIS honestly did not mind sharing him like that.

After they were done with their new marital activities, they were sitting cozily in the kitchen for some tea. Rose brought up a subject the Doctor really didn't want to discuss, but felt like he had to.

"Doctor?"

"Hmm?"

"There's something my mum mentioned I should discuss with you. I've no idea what she was on about, but she said you'd know what I'm talking about." Rose said.

"Really? You can actually communicate with her just like that now?" The Doctor smiled widely, still completely intrigued with the connection the two girls had.

"It's not words we're using, but… _grrr_, I can't describe it! It's about as impossible as trying to explain colors to someone without any optical functions." Rose said with absolute frustration.

"It's a mental thing, right?" The Doctor smiled as Rose worked herself up cutely.

"No. Well, not exactly. It is, sort of, but not quite." Rose mumbled into her cup. "Anyway, I'm supposed to talk about, um, something about an abortion…? Not getting it, really."

The Doctor went rigid, and it did not go unnoticed by Rose. She raised an eyebrow at him and frowned in concern.

"So you do understand what I'm talking about."

The Doctor seemed to hesitate and remained in silence for a moment. Then he made up his mind that keeping secrets (or at least this secret) from Rose would hold no purpose. Hesitantly he explained the concept of Time Lord version of an abortion to Rose, then he recurred the event with his Eleventh after the isolus child incident. Not once did Rose interrupt him as he was telling his tale, she just nodded silently at times or sipped her tea.

"So… you've made no sense about the warning you gave yourself?" Rose concluded once he was done.

"Not really." The Doctor sighed. "Some things just don't make sense. I'm increasingly worried that the Torchwood incident wasn't what he warned me about."

Rose frowned. "How come?"

"Well, 'listen to Rose's decision' and 'remember you have a sonic screwdriver' is the warning I got, right?"

Rose nodded.

"I thought the 'decision' you had that I didn't pay any mind to the first time around was when you decided you were going to stay with me, not go with your mum to the other universe… but then the sonic screwdriver comment makes no sense. If I hadn't listened to you, I would've forced you to the other universe, and that's the end of it." The Doctor deducted quickly.

Rose snorted in amusement and rolled her eyes. "For a genius, you can be such a moron sometimes." She mocked gently.

"What?" The Doctor blinked, confused.

"As if I'm ever going to just sit idle while you put yourself at risk. Doctor, you should know by now that I will _always_ find a way to come back to you."

The Doctor blinked. "You would've come back to me even if I had tried to force you away for your own good." He realized. "Okay, but where would the screwdriver factor in then? Oh!" Recognition lit his eyes up. "If I had tried to force you to leave, everyone else would've left as well. Yes! It would've been just you and me! And when-"

Suddenly all exuberance drained out of the Doctor and it was nearly comical how fast his face lost its color.

"-and if your mother had not been there, and I would've… forgotten about my screwdriver… you would've tried to fix the malfunctioning lever manually."

The Doctor suddenly grabbed Rose into a tight hug.

"My aborted self lost you to the void." He whimpered.

Rose could only pat the Doctor awkwardly as the man squeezed her against him as tightly as physically possible. Suddenly Rose flinched and tried to rub her forehead. No not rub- scratch.

"Doctor. There's something wrong in my mind." Rose complained.

Immediately the Doctor laxed his arms and turned to look into her eyes in concern.

"Wrong?"

"It's like… there's something itchy, but I can't physically reach it to scratch." Rose tried to describe the feeling.

"Do you want me to take a look?" The Doctor offered gently.

"If you could?" Rose sighed.

The Doctor placed his fingers on her temples and entered her mind once again. Rose followed him.

"I'm going to have to teach you how to do this without my assistance." The Doctor commented humorously, but Rose was already off.

"It's this one." Rose stated firmly and pointed to a door exactly on the line between Rose's normal-zone and the beyond.

It was an exceptionally unpleasant looking door. It was completely covered with dripping tar and was actually resonating sorrow once you got close enough.

"What should I do? Should I open it?" Rose asked, hesitant to even approach it.

"Do you want to?" The Doctor asked, seriously. He didn't like the fact that such a thing even existed in her mind.

"No!" Rose exclaimed immediately. "I don't want to go anywhere near it, but… I think I need to."

The Doctor took hold of Rose's hand mentally to lend her support.

With a trembling hand Rose pushed the door open and the pair was sucked into a memory.

Even if you did not know the exact events, everything was completely and utterly drenched under the heavy blanket of sorrow.

_The Doctor appears before you, but he's a bit see-through. He looks rather sad._

"_Where are you?" You ask._

"_Inside the TARDIS. There's one tiny little gap in the universe left, just about to close. And it takes a lot of power to send this projection. I'm in orbit around a supernova. I'm burning up a sun just to say goodbye" He replies, his tone melancholy._

"_You look like a ghost." You mention._

_He points his sonic screwdriver at something and his image solidifies._

_You walk closer and reach your hand out to his cheek._

"_I'm still just an image. No touch." He says sadly._

"_Can't you come through properly?" You ask._

"_The whole thing would fracture. Two universes would collapse." He explains._

"_So?" You partially joke._

"_Where are we? Where did the gap come out?" He asks and looks around._

"_We're in Norway." You reply._

"_Norway, right." He nods, a bit surprised._

"_About fifty miles out Bergen. It's __called_ _Dårlig Ulv-Stranden." You specify._

"_Dalek?!" The Doctor mishears._

"_Dårlig. It's Norwegian for 'bad'. This translates as 'Bad Wolf Bay'."_

_You both smile at the irony._

"_How long have you got?" You ask._

"_About two minutes." He replies softly._

"_I can't think of what to say." You say, your voice increasingly tearing up._

"_You've still got Mr. Mickey, then." The Doctor attempted to console you._

"_There's five of us now. Mum, dad, Mickey… and the baby." You say._

"…_you're not…"_

"_No. It's mum. Three months gone. More Tylers on the way." You smile slightly._

"_And what about you?" he asks, still as softly._

"_Yeah… I'm back working in the shop." You say seriously._

"_Oh. Good for you." The Doctor smiles._

"_Shut up! No, I'm not. This other Torchwood on this planet's open for business. Think I know a thing or two about aliens." You smile._

"_Rose Tyler- defender of the Earth." The Doctor smiles proudly._

"_You're dead officially back home. So many people died that day, and you've gone missing. You're in the list of the dead." The Doctor says, grim once again._

"_Here you are. Living the life, day after day. The one adventure I can never have."_

"_Am I ever going to see you again?" You barely manage to say through the tears that persistently keep collecting._

"_You can't."_

"_What are you going to do?"_

"_Oh, I've got the TARDIS. Same old life, last of the Time Lords."_

"_On your own?"_

_He nods._

"_I love you."_

_He doesn't reply at first._

"_Quite right too… And I suppose if it's my last chance to say it… Rose Tyler-"_

_And he fades away, leaving you crying alone._

Rose's memory ended and suddenly the pair found themselves huddling on the kitchen floor. Rose was frantically clutching onto her husband and crying hysterically, and the Doctor was doing very little better.

They both experienced Rose's would-be memories from her point of view, _just_ the way it happened. The whole shebang. The entire motherload of emotions.

It took them a few minutes to calm down.

"What the hell was that?" Asked Rose once her hysterics were more or less back under control.

"TARDISes live differently than the rest of us. They live transcending time and space, so even though when an abortion is made, they would remember timelines that never happened." The Doctor explained while stroking Rose's hair soothingly.

"I believe that's why your mind is like that. You have all the memories of an aborted timeline, but it's all locked up to prevent you from burning out. Your baby mind wouldn't be able to handle the strain." He pressed a kiss to Rose's forehead and she sighed.

"Will I remember?"

"Eventually, probably. Though it might take awhile, there were a frighteningly large number of doors in your mind's eye. Actually, it might be possible you'll keep most of the doors locked most of the time, only opening them when the need arises."

"How would I know when to open the doors?"

"You're going to have to learn, but don't worry about it now. I doubt your mind would be ready to start training for a few decades yet. Although, your mind's already more mature than it would be because of that aborted timeline. Still, definitely going to take decades. The fastest a TARDIS takes to mature is a century, and you're a type 40's descendant- they take even longer than that."

Rose laughed lightly.

"You always babble." She hummed and snuggled into his chest.

* * *

A few hours later the couple landed the TARDIS into the Tyler flat just moments after their slightly younger counterparts went out ghost hunting.

"Are you sure you don't want to let any of your old friends know you're not dead?" The Doctor asked as Rose started rounding up some old keepsakes.

"Mum and I -er I meant Jackie, by the way- had this conversation… actually I think we're having it right now. Anyway, we talked about my future and came to the conclusion that the only reason I keep coming back here at all is because of her." Rose explained.

"And now that she's no longer here you have no reason to return any more." The Doctor nodded. "But what about your friends?"

"I don't _really_ have any friends here anymore, I suppose." Rose frowned thoughtfully. "I mean, when I first started traveling with you, you accidentally brought me back a year too late. That gave my friends enough time to more or less mourn my memory, and when I did come back I never really reconnected with anyone."

The Doctor pulled Rose into his arms, startling his wife into almost dropping the album she had been pulling from the shelf.

He started planting kisses on her exposed neck. Rose smiled and tilted her head as she accepted her husband's silent apology. Soon enough the gentle apology became an all out distraction, and they got completely sidetracked from their original reason of being in the apartment. It wasn't until the 'ghost of granddad Prentice' started to make an appearance that they realized they were extremely pressed for time.

Quickly they grabbed their clothes, the photo albums, and some other knickknacks and made a mad dash for the TARDIS just as the ghost solidified into a cyberman and started demanding their immediate surrender and co-operation.

"Delete. Delete. Delete." It droned as the blue door was slammed into its face, its otherwise powerful weapon useless against the TARDIS. The couple laughed at the cyberman's predicament.

"We should go soon. The cyberman's firepower may not cause mum any real damage, but she still doesn't like it. It's like when someone pokes at you with a toothpick repeatedly." Rose giggled.

"So, where to?" The Doctor smiled his maniacal smile as he jumped around console.

"We could go random- as long as it's not Earth." Rose replied.

"Craving something alien?" The Doctor teased suggestively, which looked a bit ridiculous considering he wasn't wearing any trousers.

"Craving to be away from unpleasant memories." Rose grimaced and the Doctor winced as well. "After I unlocked that memory of… anyway, I'm just not ready, I guess."

"Okay." The Doctor nodded.

"Actually, scrap that random… I wanna have a honeymoon in Barcelona." Rose changed her mind.

"Dogs with no noses, here we come." The Doctor laughed and hurled them into the time vortex

* * *

**Like I said, some of you may find this disturbing. But it does make sense. Doctor/Rose is my favorite DW couple, but the one thing you can never do is separate the Doctor from his TARDIS. She's the one who's always been there, from the beginning to the end.**

**Though don't worry, I'm not going to delve into their sex life too deeply, the story **_**is**_** rated 'Teens'. You can come up with that on your own.**

**Thanks For Reading**

**Feedback Always Appreciated.**


	5. Royal Hope Hospital

**Disclaimer: I'd like to find one weirdo on FFnet who actually publishes fan spinoffs of their own work. I'm certainly not one.**

**A/N: I'd like to reply to a reviewer. It was an anonymous review, so I was not able to reply directly. However since it brought up a good point that I'd like to address I don't feel bad about clearing it up for other people as well.**

**Yes the Doctor is married to two entities who happen to be mother and daughter, however the relationship is** **NOT**** incestuous in any way. It's more like a harem type marriage. While the Doctor is married to both Rose and the TARDIS, the relationship between Rose and TARDIS is purely platonic. The issue that they have 'sort of threesomes' is also irrelevant. Rose and her mother don't engage each other in any way, their mental presence is just there. Mostly it's just for the Doctor's benefit.**

**This came out a **_**lot**_** longer than I originally intended. I don't usually write chapters reaching 10.000 words. Yikes! Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

Rose's desire to not see Earth faded slowly as a few years passed, but by sheer coincidence the time traveling couple did not happen to visit Earth almost at all. There was the exception when they went into a musical kick where they visited the live concerts of various 20th century idols, varying from Abba to Elvis to Beatles to Alice Cooper. Rose took special delight in laughing at Madonna's 'cone boobs' during the 90s.

But right now the Doctor had an extra special surprise for his wife. As of today they had been married for ten years, and the Doctor decided to take a chance on nostalgia over extravaganza.

He parked the TARDIS and blindfolded Rose. He led the giggling woman out and guided her through the street (while earning a lot of very intrigued looks by random pedestrians). Finally he took the blindfold off and Rose gasped in delight as she took in the sight of the modest chippy where they had had their first 'date'. They bought their greasy splinters of potatoes and fried fish wrapped in newspapers and sat down in a park.

"Funny little humans. While it's technically illegal to sell fish'n chips in newspapers any more, and the health hazards are no secret to anyone, nostalgia keeps old traditions afloat." The Doctor babbled as he popped another chip in his mouth.

"It's not just nostalgia. There's just something about chips that taste different when eaten from a newspaper." Rose shook her head.

"Exactly. That would be the nostalgia." The Doctor said sagely.

"So not true!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

The couple bickered playfully back and forth, neither backing down from their conviction, but neither having any real bite in their argument either.

"Anyway, what's the occasion, Doctor?" Rose changed the subject after the old one had become boring for them. "I can't remember the last time you took me out just for chips."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"You haven't noticed?"

"Noticed what?"

"Hold on…" He raised his wristwatch to eye level. "As of right… _now_… we have been married for ten years."

Rose gasped loudly in surprise and delight.

"What? Are you serious?"

"You honestly didn't notice?"

"How could I? I've only recently started really sensing the passage of time keenly. There's been no way to tell time with _that_ accuracy if it goes beyond the past three years." Rose rolled her eyes and slapped her husband's arm, who only blushed in slight embarrassment.

It was easy to forget that Rose used to not be all that sensitive to time since not too long ago.

"This has been great, love." Rose hummed in satisfaction, effectively distracting her husband, who grinned in victory.

There were a _lot_ of different places/times the Doctor could have taken Rose to, to celebrate their first decade. With all of time and space at his disposal the possibilities were practically endless, but sometimes less is more. And he had opted to take Rose back to a time and place that held deep emotional importance to the both of them. In this instance: their first date. Or what they dubbed as one.

"Yeah…" The Doctor grinned as he took in Rose's lazy happy smile. His decision had definitely been the right one. "Although… I think I may have overspun it a bit." He admitted slowly.

Rose's lips twitched. Even after been married for ten years the Doctor wasn't very keen on admitting his mistakes. He must be in a very lucid mood.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I was originally aiming for the day we first met." He admitted, a bit embarrassed now.

Rose giggled. "Yeah, missed the mark by a couple years there." She kissed his cheek. "But it's alright, I don't mind."

The Doctor grinned and kissed his wife. While Rose had inevitably changed quite a bit, there was also so much that remained the same. For instance her compassion and kindness was one thing that seemed to be a complete constant. Her sense of fashion however… it was to be expected to have changed. Most humans often shook off their remnant adolescent taste about the time they're twenty, and Rose was no exception. It hadn't changed too drastically. She still liked normal shirts and sneakers and jeans, but sometimes she preferred slacks. However, what changed the most about her overall appearance was something that the Doctor smugly believed to be his direct influence. Rose had taken to wearing a feminine red-white candystripe suit jacket, which from a distance looked like it was pink.

"How about a stroll?" Rose suggested after their meal was finished.

"Why not?" The Doctor shrugged. Today he would do whatever Rose wanted.

The pair linked their arms and cheerfully went for a walk.

It wasn't too long before Rose noticed something unusual. "Doctor look!" She pointed out what seemed to be a hospital with darker grey clouds over it. While clouds weren't at all unusual in London, they _are _weird if the rest of the city is sunny.

"Plasma coils!" The Doctor exclaimed gleefully.

"What's that do?" Rose asked.

"Oh, any number of things. Usually a force field of some sort. Someone in that hospital's being rather naughty."

"Maybe we should avoid 21st century Earth? Every time we come here something interesting like this seems to happen." Rose stated.

"Or perhaps we should visit more often." The Doctor grinned.

"Perhaps." Rose agreed. "So, how shall we investigate?"

"Hmm… how about… we go undercover as patients? No, wait! One of us is the patient, the other's the worried spouse!" The Doctor giggled gleefully.

"Works for me. So, let's get you checked in." Rose agreed.

"Why do _I_ have to be the patient?" The Doctor pouted.

"It was _your_ idea." Rose pointed out.

"Yeah, I came up with it, so now it's your turn to do your part… as the patient." The Doctor argued.

"But I don't wanna…" Rose whined.

"How 'bout we flip for it?"

"Okay! Got a coin?"

"Uh…" The Doctor patted his pockets a bit, then turned to a random passerby.

"Excuse me!" He called out cheerfully and loudly, making the poor chap jump.

"Terribly sorry, but might we borrow a coin, please?" The Doctor requested with a pleasant upbeat tone.

"Uh…" The young man hesitated, with a deer-in-headlights look.

"Just for a moment, we'll give it right back." Rose cut in, just as cheerful.

"Um… sure?" The man finally agreed, hesitant and confused.

He produced a coin and handed it to the Doctor.

"Head or tails?" The Doctor asked.

"Tails." Rose called out.

The Doctor flipped and…

"Ha! Ha!" He cheered and pointed at Rose victoriously.

"No fair! I demand a rematch! Two out of three!" Rose protested immediately.

"No." The Doctor smiled smugly. "I won fair and square."

Rose crossed her arms and sulked. The Doctor gave the coin back to the stranger.

"Thanks, old chum!" He told him with a wide grin.

"Any time." The stranger replied, now looking at the couple with amusement.

"So… time to get you checked in. Don't want my lovely wife to suffer from her stomach cramps for too long." The Doctor smirked.

"Stomach cramps?" Rose raised an eyebrow, then grinned devilishly. "Alright then."

A slight feeling of dread settled in the Doctor's stomach. That look never bode well for him. Especially when it was pointed at him.

* * *

The pair checked in. The Doctor played his part as the concerned husband almost disturbingly well. Rose didn't think she managed her part as the cramp victim nearly as good. She used to be one of the lucky ones who didn't get very much pain during her period, never mind the actual cramps. Nowadays she really didn't get period at all, not since her completed metamorphosis into a Time Lady. Since the race didn't really breed biologically, they had no need for it. That's something she was thoroughly grateful for.

While Rose was cooped up in the uncomfortable hospital bed, the Doctor took every chance he could to sneak around. So far he hadn't found _anything_ out of ordinary, a fact which slightly unnerved the pair. There's always something that's out of place when they were concerned.

Rose stayed overnight, but the Doctor was forced to leave once visiting hours were over. Bet he regretted not being the patient now while Rose could sneak around in the dark. Like the Doctor, Rose wasn't able to find anything that shouldn't be in a hospital.

Come morning the Doctor came as early as the hospital allowed.

"Found anything?" The Doctor asked as he sat down on Rose's bed.

"I found that I don't like jelly." Rose wrinkled her nose.

"Yeah, I meant about-"

"I know what you meant. No, there's nothing odd, which is odd. Maybe the plasma coils are created by something external, and not actually _in_ the hospital?"

The Doctor adopted a thoughtful look and rubbed his chin.

"Yes, that's a very real possibility." He nodded.

Suddenly a cluster of students stumbled up to the couple and an elderly man (obviously the supervisor) greeted Rose cordially.

"A very good morning to you Mrs. Smith… and Mr. Smith I take it?" The man glanced at the Doctor, his tone asking if he were her husband.

"Hello!" The Doctor nodded his head.

"Hi!" Rose smiled at the group.

"How are you today?" The man asked Rose pleasantly, though it was likely only formality.

"Compared to yesterday a bit better." Rose replied indulgently and the Doctor grinned mischievously.

"Rose Smith was admitted yesterday with severe abdominal pains." The instructor addressed his class, then towards a particular one. "Jones, why don't you see what you can find. Amaze me." The last part was said with dry cynicism.

The Jones girl kneeled close to Rose and took out her stethoscope. She glanced at the Doctor.

"An odd one you married." She said. "Running around outside like that."

Rose blinked and looked at the Doctor. "What did you do _this_ time?"

"I didn't do anything." The Doctor defended. "I came straight here from the TA- er home."

"Yes you did, on Chancellor Street. You came up to me and took your tie off." The intern stated.

"Not me. Wasn't even on that street." The Doctor shook his head.

"Although that _does_ sound like something you would do at random." Rose grinned.

Jones frowned.

"That's weird. It looked just like you. Have you got a brother?"

"No, no family, just the wife."

"As time passes I grow ever more infirm and weary, Ms. Jones." The instructor cut in, and Jones almost blushed in embarrassment.

She gave a quick apology and tried to listen to Rose's heart via her stethoscope. The double beating of Rose's hearts clearly puzzled her. She tried another spot and Rose winked at her as Jones only stared at her flabbergasted.

"I weep for future generations. Are you having trouble locating the heart, Miss Jones?" The instructor asked dryly.

"Um… I don't know." Jones replied honestly. "Stomach cramps?" She tried to cover up her blunder.

"That is a symptom, not a diagnosis." The instructor sighed, and shook his head.

"Um, is it possible you're pregnant, Mrs. Smith?" Martha asked, still trying to save face.

"It is possible… if my dear husband would stop shooting blanks." Rose replied with a completely straight face.

The Doctor covered his face with his hands, completely mortified.

"Uh… right." Jones shuffled, almost as uncomfortable as the Doctor.

"Quite. Miss Jones you rather fail at basic techniques by not consulting with the patient's chart." The instructor cut in coolly, and took Rose's chart.

He dropped the chart however as he was electrocuted by the metal clip. Several students spoke up, including Jones, and revealed that similar had happened to them as well. The instructor was undaunted.

"Well, it's only to be expected." He said wisely. "There's a thunderstorm moving in, and lightning is a form of static electricity. As which was proven by… anyone?" He looked at his students expectantly. While it was not strictly about medicine, he still expected his students to be as informed in other fields as possible. Incompetence was no excuse.

"Benjamin Franklin!" The Doctor replied cheerfully.

"Correct." The instructor nodded, impressed by the Doctor, but disappointed that it wasn't one of his students.

"My mate, Ben… that was a day and a half! I got rope burns off that kite, and then I got soaked." The Doctor started babbling and Rose smirked at the instructor's flabbergasted look.

"Quite." He said politely.

"And _then_ I got electrocuted!" The Doctor finished with a wide oblivious smile.

"Your own fault for volunteering!" Rose shook her head. "Though I can't imagine it being any worse than that time you got electrocuted by that Slytheen in Downing Street."

"Moving on…" The instructor said stiffly.

The pair's sharp ears picked up as he turned to an orderly and recommended a visit from a psychiatric.

As the group left, Rose and the Doctor burst out laughing.

"You really enjoy messing with the heads of humans, don't you?" Rose said affectionately.

"Nothing harmful with a bit of insane fun." The Doctor declared. "Although, that Jones girl was rather funny when she couldn't find your heart too." Then his expression turned darker. "But that comment about…" He blushed, not finishing her sentence.

"A couple goes to a hospital, possibly newlywed by the look of it, with the wife is having cramps in her belly. How could the subject of pregnancy not come up?" Rose grinned evilly.

"This is vengeance for making you the patient, isn't it?" The Doctor moaned and Rose laughed diabolically. "You're mean." He accused childishly.

The plasma coils overhead were thickening at an alarming rate and in a few hours it started raining.

"Love, it's raining up." Rose pointed out.

"Ah…" The Doctor said a bit nervously. "Better hold on to something. That's an H2O scoop."

"Sorry, not familiar with that term." Rose said calmly.

"It means the hospital's about to be transported."

"What, the _entire_ hospital?"

"Yes."

"Where?"

"We'll find out."

The Doctor pushed Rose on her back and got on top of her, holding on to the sides of the bed. It would've gotten them odd looks, but not a moment later the entire hospital rocked and shook like it was in the midst of an earthquake. When the quaking stopped the Doctor stoop up and looked around. Then his eyes lit up.

"Rose, you've gotta see this." He whispered in excitement.

Rose sat up on her bed and looked out the window.

"We're on the moon!" She gasped.

"Yes we are." The Doctor grinned.

"Oh, now this is getting interesting." Rose grinned back. "Close the drapes, luv. I'm going to change out of this paper dress."

The Doctor did as requested and Rose wasted no time in peeling off the cheap hospital gown. She was interrupted when she felt the Doctor embrace her from behind and press a kiss on her shoulder.

"Doctor, I'm supposed to be getting dressed, not the other way around." She rolled her eyes.

The Doctor hummed, and only moved his hand to fondle her chest.

"Doctor!" Rose protested. "As much as I'd love to continue this, I think we're a bit short on time!"

The Doctor grumbled in disappointment, but removed himself nonetheless.

"It's like dangling candy before a child and telling them they're not allowed to have any." He complained.

Rose snorted a laugh. Ten years of marriage for a couple that's nearly immortal meant they were just exiting being newlyweds, but as of late the Doctor's been unusually randy. She wasn't complaining though.

The people around them were starting their initial panic wave. That wave was soon calmed a bit when a voice called out just as Rose was about to finish getting dressed.

"Alright, everyone, back to beds! We've got an emergency, but we'll sort it out!"

"Not bad. Try to calm everyone even if you know you're hopeless." The Doctor smiled as he listened to the young woman muse over their air. She stated that they wouldn't lose air if they were to open, since they weren't airtight to begin with.

"If the air was going to get sucked out it would've straight away, but it didn't… so how come?"

Rose had finished getting dressed so the Doctor pulled back the drapes.

"Very good point!" He complimented the girl. "Brilliant in fact. What was your name?"

"Martha Jones." She replied. She was the same intern that had tended to Rose earlier.

"Well then, Martha Jones, the question is: how are we still breathing."

"We can't be." The other intern blurted, shaking and looking as if she would burst out in tears any moment.

"Obviously we are, so don't waste my time." The Doctor stated offhandedly as he studied the non-airtight window.

"Oi, rude! At least wait until she's over her cultural shock before starting to make derisive remarks." Rose spoke up for the medical student's behalf. "What's your name?" She asked the girl.

"J-Julia. Julia Swales." She replied weakly.

"Nice to meet Julia Swales. I'm Rose."

"Y-yes, I know." She stuttered, but seemed a bit more calmed down from the normalcy of introductions.

"Anyway… back to the subject at hand. Is there a balcony on this floor- or a veranda?" The Doctor cut in, tired of the domestics already.

"By the patients' lounge, yeah." Martha replied calmly.

"Fancy going out?" The Doctor asked as he looked at Martha.

"Okay." Martha agreed without hesitation.

"We might _die_." The Doctor goaded ominously.

"We might _not_." The brave med student replied without missing a beat.

The Doctor grinned and looked at Rose.

"Mine's better than yours." He mocked childishly.

"Shut up!" Rose snorted.

"Going now." The Doctor said and quickly walked out of the room followed closely by Martha.

"Are you coming with?" Rose asked Julia who just stood there blankly. "Suit yourself."

And Rose turned to go after her husband and Martha, but soon Julia jogged after her as well.

The group stopped before the veranda doors and cautiously opened them up. They took hesitant steps outside and Martha took in an experimental inhale.

"We've got air." She half whispered reverently.

"How is that even possible?" Julia asked as she too inhaled deeply.

"Just be glad it is." The Doctor replied.

The four waked to the concrete railing and took in the Earth. The Doctor placed an arm around Rose. If you ignore the situation, the sight was actually rather romantic.

"I've got a party tonight." Martha admitted out of the blue as she looked at her home planet wearily. "My brother's 21st."

"You okay?" The Doctor asked with a frown and Martha nodded shortly.

"Do you want to go back in?" He asked.

To his surprise both medical student rejected the offer immediately.

"We could die any minute, but all the same it's beautiful." Martha said.

"My little brother wanted to be an astronaut when he was a kid. He's going to have a stroke when he hears about this. _If_ he hears about this." Julia smiled sadly while not taking her eyes off the Earth.

Martha laughed. "How many people want to go to the moon? And here we are now."

"…standing in the Earthlight." The Doctor commented as he smiled at the two breathless interns.

"What do you think happened?" Martha asked the couple.

"What do _you_ think?" The Doctor shot back, honestly interested what two domestic earthbound humans might think.

"Extra-terrestrial." Martha said after a brief pause. "It's got to be."

"Mr. Saxon's been talking about it over the telly and radio. He says that contact with aliens is getting more and more real, and I believe him." Julia nodded.

"Of course. I mean, that spaceship flying into Big Ben-" Martha said.

"I thought it was a hoax. But then there was that other spaceship at Christmas- the one that made people stand on the edge of roofs." Julia added.

"Then there were those cyberman things." Martha shuddered with a sad look. "I had a cousin- Adeola… She worked at Canary Wharf. Never came home."

"I'm sorry." Rose said remorsefully. A lot of people died that day.

"We were there… in the battle…" The Doctor said quietly.

"How did you manage that?" Julia blinked in surprise.

"Long story." Rose replied.

Martha took a determined breath.

"I promise, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, we will find a way out." She stated seriously. "If we can travel to the moon, then we can travel back."

"That's the spirit!" Rose cheered the med student.

"We're not the Smiths. Not our real name." The Doctor said and started looking around the balcony for something.

"Really? Why would you lie about your name?" Julia asked in surprise.

"To get in the hospital, actually. We were investigating the plasma coils- the dark clouds over the hospital. That's actually what caused the hospital to shift." Rose babbled.

"Who _are you_?" Martha asked the couple with wide eyes. Apparently the couple knew about their situation a hella lot more than she thought.

"I'm the Doctor." The Doctor said.

"I'm Rose." Rose said.

"Doctor Smith?" Julia asked, hesitantly. The couple unnerved her a little bit.

"Just the Doctor." The Doctor stated and Rose smiled. _Say it, say it, say it_ She chanted in her head.

"What do you mean 'just the Doctor'?" Martha frowned.

_Awwww_ Rose moaned in her head in disappointment.

"Doctor who?" Julia asked and Rose cheered.

The medical student turned to her in surprise. "Sorry." She apologized. "I like it when people say that… 'Doctor who'."

"What, people just call him 'the Doctor'?!" Martha asked incredulously.

"Yeah." The Doctor replied lightly.

"Well, I'm not." Martha stated. "As far as I'm concerned you've got to earn that title."

"Oh, he has." Rose said, her tone mysterious. "Probably more than anyone on that planet."

"I've never heard of him." Julia stated.

The Doctor ignored the debate over his name and threw a small rock as far as he could. A blue wall shimmered as the rock slid past the force field.

"There's a force field, keeping the air and warmth in." The Doctor stated.

"But… if that's like a bubble sealing the air in… that means this is the only air we've got." Martha stated with a feeling of dread.

"Oh god…" Julia gasped. "We're going to suffocate!"

"Why would anyone do that?!" Martha exclaimed.

A suddenly rumbling overhead got the quartet's attention.

"You could ask them that yourself." The Doctor stated.

"That- that's a _spaceship_! Up close!" Julia gasped and rubbed her eyes in disbelief.

"Aliens! Real, proper aliens!" Martha stared with her mouth open, as the aliens landed and marched out of their ships towards the mooned hospital.

"Judoon." The Doctor stated seriously.

"Not the Shadow Proclamation." Rose groaned.

"It might not be, but that's the most likely." The Doctor sighed. "Come on, let's go get a better look."

The group made their way towards the main entrance, and saw as the black-clad bipedal aliens entered the building. As they did, the people all around them started screaming in terror, even though they were not yet harmed in any way. One of the aliens took off its mask and revealed a face that had a startling similarity to an Earth rhinoceros. Cue a new wave of screams.

The Doctor's group spied from a distance as the rhino-like alien addressed the humans.

"_We greet and thank you for you cooperation on the behalf of Padrivole Regency 9. Please stand by as you are catalogued._"

A brave student nervously came forward. It was one of Martha and Julia's classmates.

"Um, we are citizens of planet Earth… w-we welcome you in peace." He said as calmly as he was able.

The judoon turned towards the young man and backed him into a wall. He shined his scanner (that looked like a weapon to humans) at him. The poor boy lost his cool and nervously started begging for his life.

"That's not too shabby." The Doctor whispered to Rose. "Before he lost his cool he actually addressed the judoon correctly." He said, impressed with the human.

The judoon assimilated the language and started cataloguing the humans, but the Doctor got distracted by an entirely different thing.

"Aww, they've got a little shop! I like a little shop." He cooed happily.

"Never mind that!" Martha snapped at him. "What are 'judoon'?"

"Police." The Doctor said simply, then started babbling. "Wellll… police for hire. More like interplanetary thugs."

"Used to be a simple war race, but turned out to be very good mercenaries. Mostly because of their ridiculous obedience to rules and cold efficiency." Rose added.

"And they brought us to the moon?" Martha asked.

"Neutral territory. According to galactic law they've got no jurisdiction over Earth, so they isolated the hospital." The Doctor explained. "That rain and lightning… the plasma coils, as Rose said- that was them. Using H2O scoop."

Martha rolled her eyes and turned to Julia. "Galactic law." She snorted. Julia just looked confused.

"If they're police, are we under arrest? Are we trespassing on the moon or something?" Martha asked.

"That makes no sense." Julia shook her head. "If they're the ones who brought us here, why would they arrest us for that? And the first moon landing was decades ago."

"Good point. Nice thinking, Julia." The Doctor said, impressed. "But I only wish it were that simple. They're making a catalogue, which means they're after something non-human. And that is _very_ bad news for Rose and I."

"Why?" Martha asked obliviously, and the couple turned to look at the med students with a bland look.

"You're kidding me." Martha said dryly.

"You look human." Julia stated.

"On the outside, yes." Rose grinned mischievously.

"So I wasn't just imagining it." Martha gasped. "You _do_ have two hearts!"

"_Whaat_?" Julia's mouth fell open.

"And a respiratory bypass system. That is _definitely_ going to come in handy in this situation." Rose nodded.

"Let's go." The Doctor said as the judoon started to get done with the lobby.

They made their way into an office and the Doctor waited no time trying to hack into the database. Martha and Julia lagged behind them a bit, keeping a lookout. They regrouped when the judoon started to get a bit closer.

"They've reached the third floor." Martha said. "What is that thing?"

"Sonic screwdriver." The Doctor replied without taking his eyes off the screen.

"Well, if you're not going to answer me properly…" Martha rolled her eyes.

"He wasn't kidding." Rose called out from under a small mountain of papers. She was trying to find anything useful manually.

"What else have you got? Laser spanner?" Martha asked sarcastically.

"I did, but it was stolen by Emily Pankhurst, that cheeky woman."

Rose snorted derisively. "That holier-than-thou sexist bitch." She grumbled.

"You just don't like her because she kept hitting on me." The Doctor grinned.

"Yes, because all self respecting women flirt with married men right in front of their wives." Rose wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"_Emily Pankhurst_." Julia repeated in disbelief. "Exactly how old _are_ you?"

Rose started giggling and sent a look at the Doctor, who had the decency to blush.

"First time we met he told me he was nine hundred." Rose grinned in glee.

"Technically I wasn't lying!" The Doctor justified, but still looked embarrassed.

"Yeah, he just omitted what time system he was using. In reality, using Earth years, he's nearly three times that age." Rose giggled.

"So, he's 2700 Earth years old?" Julia's mouth was hanging open.

"I'm 2692." The Doctor pouted quietly, his cheeks a cherry red. "What is _wrong_ with this computer!?" He shouted out, both in pure frustration, and partly because the subject of his age was touchy for him. When you're halfway through your second millennia, you'd be embarrassed too to have a 31 year old wife.

"The judoon must've locked it down." He grumbled.

"Yeah, I'm not having any luck here either, unless you count the blasted paper cuts." Rose complained.

"We were just here celebrating our first decade; I swear we were not looking for trouble." The Doctor sighed. "But then we noticed those plasma coils, thought it was something _inside_. Turns out it was the judoon up above."

"First decade? You mean you're really married?" Julia asked.

"Uh, yeah." Rose nodded, puzzled.

"Sorry, I just thought everything about you was made up. Um, congratulations?"

"Thanks." Rose shook her head, but smiled nonetheless.

"Anyway… what do the judoon want?" Martha asked.

"Something that looks human, but isn't." The Doctor replied.

"Like you two?" Martha said slowly.

"Like us. But not us." The Doctor stated.

"Are you certain about that?" Rose spoke up. "I mean since Gallifrey's destruction Time Lords are thought to be extinct. Wouldn't the Shadow Proclamation, or Galactic Council want to investigate our existence?"

The Doctor shook his head. "No, these judoon are sent by one of the Padrivole Regencies. They're too independent to give a damn. This must be something domestic."

"Ah, right!" Rose nodded in comprehension.

"Uh, the destruction of what?" Julia spoke up nervously.

"Never mind." Rose shrugged it off.

"Haven't the judoon got a photo?" Martha asked, determined to keep the subject on the urgent matter.

"Might be a shape changer." The Doctor dismissed.

"Why can't you leave the judoon to find it by themselves?" She inquired some more.

"You ask good questions Martha Jones." Rose winced. "But you will not like all the answers."

"If they declare the hospital guilty of harboring a fugitive they'll sentence it to execution." The Doctor said seriously.

"Are you serious? But there are about a thousand innocent people in this building!" Julia exclaimed aghast.

The Doctor called out in frustration as the judoon wiped the records.

"What are we looking for?" Martha asked nervously. Their impending doom did not sit well with her.

"I don't know." The Doctor admitted. "Any patient admitted this past week with unusual symptoms?"

"I'll go ask Mr. Stoker." Martha decided.

"Umm, shouldn't we ask the judoon what they're looking for?" Julia recommended.

"Brilliant!" The Doctor said and smiled at Julia. "Except you have to be a human to do it."

Julia shuddered. "I'll do it." She said, sounding braver than she felt.

"Are you sure?" Rose asked.

"Well, we might die of oxygen starvation or execution otherwise." She gave a bit twitchy smile.

"I could go instead." Martha volunteered.

"No, you go to Mr. Stoker, he still might know something." Julia shook her head.

"Are you sure? You could go to Mr. Stoker instead." Martha offered kindly.

"Well, whoever goes to the judoon, remember: they're logical, but stupid, and complete sticklers to rules. If they were in the middle of a car chase they would stop at a red light, because that's part of the traffic laws." Rose said and the human girls gaped at her.

"Are you serious?!" They both gaped in unison.

"Yes, her point is you have to be polite and formal. Do not shout, and _do_ _not_ assault physically in any way. They might take it as offence, as against the law, and sentence you to execution." The Doctor said seriously.

Julie gulped nervously. "Right. Let's go, Martha."

When they were out of the door Rose stood up from her pile of papers.

"This is absolutely _useless_. I'm going to have a look around too."

"Rose…" The Doctor said seriously.

"I'll be fine, Doctor, I know how to be careful. I'm no help with this pile of wood reject anyway."

She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss.

"You better be safe." The Doctor mumbled as his wife too exited the room.

He turned back towards the computer and attempted to restore the backup.

* * *

Martha ran towards Mr. Stoker's office and barely knocked on it before entering. She was _not_ expecting to see two black leather and helmets wearing males standing stiffly as Mr. Stoker's feet poked out from behind his expensive desk. Suddenly the head of a patient, Florence Finnegan, poked up from behind the desk. She had a straw- one end in her mouth and the other covered in blood. Martha wasted no time in bolting out of the office and back towards the Doctor. She had no desire to become some vampire-alien's next meal.

* * *

Julia nervously made her way towards the head judoon. It (he?) was accompanied by Oliver Morgenstern, one of the other interns. He did his best to calm the people as the judoon catalogued everybody, doing his best to reassure they would not be harmed, and **not** to attack them.

"E-excuse me." Julia stuttered as she came up to the judoon captain.

It made no sign that it heard her, instead in roughly shined its scanner to her face to confirm her as a human. It made a cross on her hand once it was done. It turned away from her, but Julia wasn't giving up so easily.

"Excuse me, uh, Mr. Judoon, but might I- uh, request what exactly are you looking for?" She blurted the last part quickly.

The judoon actually stopped and turned towards her.

"We have been sent by Padrivole Regency 9. A plasmavore has committed the crime of murder of the child princess of Padrivole Regency 9." It stated formally.

"Julia, what are you doing?!" Oliver hissed quietly, but was ignored.

"So, you're looking for an alie- er, _non-human_ plasmavore?" Julia stated.

"Affirmative." The judoon said.

"But what if you happen to find a non-human that is _not_ a plasmavore?"

"The judoon have no jurisdiction over tourists. We are here to exact justice on the murder of the child princess of Padrivole Regency 9." The judoon replied.

"So… you're saying a non human, non plasmavore would be… _safe_?" Julia smiled a bit.

"Affirmative." The judoon said.

"Thank you." Julia said quickly and bolted away.

Oliver hesitated for a moment before running after Julia. He caught up with her and grabbed her arm.

"What the hell was that?" He demanded.

"Not now, Oliver." Julia hissed and pulled herself free. "I've got to go."

"Why did you ask about other aliens beside the one the space-rhinos are looking for? How would you even come up with that?" Suddenly his eyes widened. "There are other aliens here? You've made contact with them!?" He asked, his tone eager.

Julia hesitated a bit.

"They're trying to help." She admitted finally.

"Blimey, what a day this is turning out to be." Oliver sighed. "Hey, wait up, I'm coming with you!"

Julia didn't bother to try and ditch him.

She ran towards the office where Mr. Smith (or whatever his name is) was, but halfway there she ran into him along with Martha. The pair didn't waste any time explaining, just telling her to run. She didn't ask when she noticed a black clad helmet-wearing male chasing them. Could that be the plasmavore?

Oliver was extremely confused. One minute he was following Julia towards another alleged alien life form, then Martha and Mr. Smith, the slightly insane husband of a patient, came barging right at them, apparently chased by a biker with a leather fetish. He chose to save his questions for when they weren't acting like they were running for their lives.

* * *

Rose honestly hadn't got the foggiest clue what she was supposed to be looking for. She chose to wander around aimlessly at a section the judoon had already catalogued for anyone without a mark. She didn't find any suspects, but she did find something possibly better.

"Rose?" A somewhat familiar voice called out and Rose turned around to see a dark-haired slightly older woman.

"Sarah-Jane!" Rose called out in delight and hugged the other woman. "What are _you _doing here?"

"Oh, I was waiting to get my tonsils removed." Sarah-Jane replied lightly.

"Oh. Guess you got a bit cut off before surgery." Rose smiled.

"Oh shush." Sarah-Jane rolled her eyes. "I'm here on probably the same reason as you."

"Right. _Duh_." Rose slapped her forehead

"The Doctor, he's here as well, then?" Sarah-Jane inhaled in excited anticipation.

"Of course. He's tucked away in an office, trying to hack into a database, but the judoon wiped the records. Shall we go see him?"

"Oh, yes!"

The two women leisurely set their way towards the Doctor.

"So how have you been fairing?" Rose asked politely.

"Quite well, actually. Adopted a son." Sarah-Jane smiled.

"Really? That's nice. What's his name?"

"Luke. There's actually an interesting story behind his adoption, but I think now is not the time for that tale."

Rose nodded. There's a lot that's happened to her as well.

"Actually I've been meaning to thank you, if we ever ran into each other." Sarah-Jane said.

"Oh? What for?"

"Just something you mentioned when we first met. Helped me figure out a mystery, and save the Earth." Sarah-Jane stated, a bit proudly.

"Really? Well, good for you! What happened, anyway?"

"The Slytheen family was out for vengeance against Earth."

Rose's step faltered in surprise.

"Yikes. That sounds dangerous. Hope you don't think all Raxacoricofallapatorians are like that bad. Actually, mostly they're really nice."

Sarah-Jane made a face. "I'll never be able to say that. Raxxa- ugh."

"The Doctor had to spell it out to me slowly several times." Rose admitted with a laugh. "Here we are."

She opened a door to an office that was completely devoid of any living beings.

"Huh. He must've wandered off." Rose stated.

"Guess we'll have to go hunting for him. That could be a waste of time." Sarah-Jane frowned, not wanting to be a liability.

"It's alright; I can sense where he is." Rose reassured and closed her eyes in concentration.

Sarah-Jane blinked in surprise, but before she could ask about it Rose grabbed her hand and started pulling her down a corridor. Rose went with a slight jog, but suddenly changed her direction when he almost ran into a troop of judoon.

"Why are we running away from judoon like that? They're scanning for non human forms." Sarah-Jane said in confusion.

"Uh, yeah, I'm sort of non-human." Rose said offhandedly.

"Oh!" Sarah-Jane exclaimed in surprise. "Sorry. Last time we met I assumed you were human." She apologized sincerely.

Rose sent a grin at Sarah-Jane's direction. "There's a story behind that, but right now is not the time for that tale."

Rose suddenly pulled the older woman behind a corner as she spied a leather clad male figure with a helmet trying to break into a room with a locked door. It finally managed just that and not a barely a moment later there was a sharp light.

"I think it's safe to investigate now. The Doctor's in that room." Rose said and Sarah-Jane nodded eagerly.

* * *

The Doctor and the medical students ran through the hallways and into a room in the x-ray department. The Doctor closed the door after them and locked it with his screwdriver. Whoever was chasing them started ramming at the door and it soon became apparent he will succeed as well. The Doctor pushed all humans into radiation-proof cubicle where the controls were.

"When I say 'now' press the button." The Doctor instructed urgently.

"But I don't know which one!" Martha cried out.

"That yellow one." Oliver pointed out immediately, radiology being one of his subjects of study.

"Who the hell are you?" The Doctor asked in surprise, apparently only now noticing him there.

"Oliver Morgenstern, sir." Oliver replied automatically.

"Nice to meet you, Oliver. I'm the Doctor." The Doctor said quickly and just like that rushed away.

He tinkered with a machine in the room a bit and positioned it so it was facing the door. The leather-clad male burst into the room and the Doctor called out 'Now'. Oliver pushed the button. Martha and Julia closed their eyes to shield them from the bright light, but Oliver forced himself to look. Much to his amazement he was able to see the 'Doctor's' skeleton, but apparently the other… _thing_ didn't have one. Soon it was all over. Oliver had to blink the start out of his eyes.

"What did you do?" Martha asked.

"Increased the radiation by 5000%. Killed 'im dead."

"That's impossible!" Oliver exclaimed. "Assuming you actually _could_ increase the radiation to that extent, there's no way you could survive that."

The Doctor only smiled at the young man.

"Nah! It's only roentgen radiation. We used to play with roentgen bricks in the nursery!" He stated jovially. "It's safe for you lot to come out, I've absorbed it all."

Oliver turned to Julia.

"That's him, right? The 'other' alien. The one you said is trying to help us." He asked.

"Do you go around yelling you've met a different alien?" The Doctor frowned at Julia and started hopping slightly.

"No, sir." Julia shook her head. "He figured it out on his own through the questions I asked the judoon."

"Oh, a bright one, aren't you? Hey, aren't you the one who addressed the judoon when they first came in?"

"Yes. Yes, I am. And why are you hopping?" Oliver blinked at the odd male, who was bouncing as if on a trampoline.

"I need to expel the radiation, just need to- _ah itches!_- shift it out my body and into one spot." He cried out suddenly and hopped on one leg. He declared the radiation to be in his left shoe, so he shook that leg and then took the shoe off, while being extremely wobbly. He threw his shoe into a trash bin and declared it over.

"You're completely mad." Martha stated bluntly.

"I think he's funny." Julia cracked a smile and Oliver had no idea what to think.

"You're right; I look daft with one shoe." The Doctor agreed seriously and pulled off his other shoe and it followed its irradiated twin in the bin.

"Barefoot on the moon!" The Doctor said and wiggled his toes.

"I see age has not curbed your good madness, Doctor." A new voice said from the door.

The group turned towards the newcomer. It was the Doctor's wife, and a new, strange woman. The Doctor's eyes lit up with joy.

"Sarah-Jane!" He cried out happily and glomped the woman into a tight hug.

"Hello Doctor." Sarah-Jane laughed as she hugged him back. "It's good to see you."

"How many aliens _are _in this hospital?" Oliver asked incredulously.

"Excuse me! I'm completely human, thank you very much. But the Doctor does sometimes take humans as companions. Shows them the universe. It's rather marvelous." Sarah-Jane said, her tone taking on a dreamy quality.

"Um…" Oliver said. "About meeting Benjamin Franklin…" He started hesitantly.

"Probably true." Julia said. "He says he's over two thousand years old."

"Really?" He blinked.

"Yeah, and also Emily Pan-"

Martha whistled loudly. They all shut up and turned to her.

"Can we get back to the matter at hand please? We have a hospital full of people in jeopardy here." She admonished the group and they all had the decency to look sheepish.

"I found out who the alien is." Martha declared.

"What? Why didn't you say anything?!" Oliver gasped.

"You were all too busy playing meet and greet." Martha snapped back. "Anyway it's Florence Finnegan."

"The old lady with salt deficiency?" Julia frowned, unable to see her as anything threatening.

"Are you sure?" Oliver agreed with Julia.

"She killed Mr. Stoker." Martha said grimly and her colleagues gasped. "She was drinking his blood, through a straw."

"The judoon said they were after something called a 'plasmavore'." Julia.

Rose groaned loudly and rubbed her eyes in clear exasperation. She let out a string of beautiful lyrical syllables, which sounded like they could've been curse words despite their beauty. Mostly because she declare the judoon 'complete idiots' in the end. The Doctor however jumped in realization.

"Plasmavore! She wasn't drinking his blood, she was _assimilating _it. She's an internal shape changer! If she can assimilate human blood, mimic the biology… she can register as human." He explained.

"Which is why the judoon are absolute morons!" Rose sighed in frustration. "If she can register as human, the scanning is completely pointless."

"They have small brains- could fit into a normal human palm, actually." The Doctor shrugged.

"Oh yeah, _that's_ an excuse." Rose rolled her eyes.

"Um, the judoon also said that since they're looking for a plasmavore, any non-plasmavore alien is safe." Julia spoke up.

"Well, that's a relief." Rose stated.

"Except that would take time, I'd rather not we get caught." The Doctor mused and went to take his screwdriver, which he discovered was completely burnt out.

"My sonic screwdriver!" He moaned mournfully. "I loved my sonic screwdriver."

"You can borrow mine until you can make another one." Rose rolled her eyes and distracted him with a kiss on the cheek. No one noticed Sarah-Jane's eyes widen in surprise.

"What about this thing?" Martha asked and pointed at the leather clad figure.

"Oh just a slab- basic slave drone. Solid leather all the way through. That plasmavore's got one hell of a fetish." The Doctor said offhandedly. "Speaking of which, we need to find her and show her to the judoon. Where did you say she was, Martha?"

"Mr. Stoker's office."

"Right, let's go."

The group exited the x-ray department and made their way towards Mr. Stoker's office, but had to hide as another slab walked by.

"That's the thing about slabs. They always travel in pairs." The Doctor muttered.

"Like you two?" Oliver eyed the Doctor.

"Really? We're stuck on the moon, running out of air, with a bloodsucking criminal on the loose, and you still find time for personal questions? Humans." The Doctor scoffed in amusement.

"Being rude again." Rose stated automatically.

"Oh right, sorry." The doctor said, just as automatic.

Apparently they've done that dance a lot.

The slab had left and they continued their journey. They rounded the corner and right into a troop of judoon. They didn't hesitate to shine a light right at Rose.

"Non-human." The Judoon declared.

"Oopsie." Rose said.

All the other judoon took out their scanners as well and surrounded her. The Doctor would've protested but Rose shushed and waved him away.

"I am not the one you are looking for." Rose stated firmly, and the judoon paused.

"Plea: accepted. Initial scan: ineffective. Initiate full scan: setting two." One of the judoon stated.

Rose mouthed for the Doctor to go while the judoon were distracted by her. The Doctor hesitated, clearly uneasy with the thought of leaving his wife.

"She's not a plasmavore, is she?" Oliver whispered to the Doctor.

"Of course not." The Doctor scowled at the human ill-temperedly.

"Then she'll be fine. The judoon chief said they're specifically looking for a plasmavore." He said softly. "I'll stay with her."

The Doctor sent one more uneasy look at Rose and left with the rest of the group, leaving Rose and Oliver at the mercy of judoon.

"Scan setting two: ineffective. What are you? What are you?" The head judoon troop leader asked harshly while manhandling her.

"Hey, don't hurt her." Oliver spoke up and made a move to help her, but Rose immediately growled at him to stay back. Oliver remembered the poor man that had been sentenced to execution just because he had smashed a vase at the judoon. He took a step back nervously.

"You are not in our database of any existing species. What are you?" The judoon said and still tried to scan her, even though every time it came up inconclusive.

"Did you say _existing_ species?" Rose asked and raised an eyebrow.

"Affirmative. What a-?"

"What about species which are extinct? Are those still in your database?"

"Negative." The judoon replied.

"Well, my species is widely believed to be extinct, due to the doom of the planet." Rose stated honestly. Whether the scan would read her as a Time Lady or a TARDIS, the planet of origin would still be Gallifrey.

The judoon paused, actually looking hesitant. Oliver blinked in surprise as they started conversing with each other in their own language. They came to a decision, and turned to Rose.

"You will-" It started, but Rose cut them off, talking in their tongue. Whatever Rose had said, she said it with exasperation and an eyeroll.

Suddenly the troop started moving, roughly escorting Rose with them.

"What did they say? What did _you_ say?" Oliver asked as he jogged along them.

"The judoon don't have the records of extinct species. Except for their captain, that is. I'm being escorted to him." Rose rolled her eyes in exasperation. "I just told them I spoke their language."

"Oh. Okay. Um, how many languages _do_ you speak?" Oliver asked, awed.

"About… 4.8 million, I think." Rose replied nonchalantly.

"You're pulling my leg." Oliver frowned.

"No really, I do. My brain's different from yours. I don't remember everything at once- my mind would burn if it did. I can put stuff into 'backup'." Rose winked.

"That's… awesome." Oliver gaped, a bit starstruck.

"Not nearly as impressive as the Doctor. He speaks all of them, though he's a lot older than me." Rose giggled as Oliver walked into a wall, too distracted by the conversation.

Unfortunately it also came to an abrupt end as they had made it to the judoon captain.

The captain and the judoon escorting Rose quickly conversed in their nursery-rhyme like language. The captain did not speak to Rose directly; instead he took his scanned and changed a few settings on it. He shined it at Rose, who stood her ground calmly. Oliver really didn't know how she managed that. Had it been him he would've soiled himself a long time ago.

Suddenly the captain jumped. It actually managed to look surprised. He addressed Rose sharply. Rose replied whatever he asked calmly, if a bit coolly. They conversed some more before silence set in. Then the captain took Rose's hand and painted the X on it. He waved away his crew to continue their job.

"What was that all about?" Oliver asked.

"He wanted to take me into protective custody to take to the Shadow Proclamation- think of it like the White House or UN of the universe. Gallifreyans used to be a bit of a big deal. I kindly reminded him that it wasn't actually part of his jurisdiction. Luckily the judoon are real sticklers to rules. Now, let's find that wayward husband of mine."

"Are you and your husband the last of your kind?" Oliver blurted.

Rose sent him a sharp look, and Oliver looked down in embarrassment.

"You could say that." She said coldly. "There they are."

Rose stopped on her tracks as she witnessed the Doctor grab Martha and land one hell of a kiss on her lips. Then he bolted.

"Oh he is _so_ sleeping on the couch." Rose bristled and ran after him.

She was so steaming with anger that she didn't notice the judoon surround Martha, initiating a deeper scan.

* * *

The Doctor walked briskly through the corridors, so submerged in his own concern for Rose that he almost failed to notice his companions lagging behind more and more. When he finally did he took in their lethargic postures and sweaty faces in concern.

"We're starting to run out of oxygen." Martha wheezed slightly.

"Doesn't the hospital have tanks of them?" Sarah-Jane asked in concern.

"Yes, but there's not enough to last too long. Not with all these patients, plus the staff." Julia bit her lip.

"How are you three holding up so far?" The Doctor asked softly.

"Running on adrenaline." Martha grinned, but it was clear the lack of air was getting to them.

"Welcome to my world." The Doctor smiled back.

"What about the judoon?" Martha asked.

"Nah, great big lung reserves. It won't slow them down."

"Just our luck." Sarah-Jane sighed.

"What about you. You look alright."

"Yeah, that would be the respiratory bypass system. I could live without air for a few hours." The Doctor stated.

"Sometimes I envy your superior biology." Sarah-Jane laughed, but stopped when she started coughing.

The young interns turned to her in concern.

"Try to breathe deeply and slowly and move around minimally. Now, where's Mr. Stoker's office?" The Doctor turned to Martha who showed him the way, leaving Julia to support Sarah-Jane.

The four stumbled into Mr. Stoker's office, but the plasmavore it seemed was long gone. Martha frowned and reassured that she really had been there. The Doctor kneeled down behind the desk where Mr. Stoker's body lay. His skin was almost comically blue, confirming that his blood had been sucked dry.

The doctor started muttering to himself as Martha close Mr. Stoker's eyes sadly. While none of the students had really liked him, no one actually wanted him dead. Suddenly the Doctor realized what the plasmavore was up to.

The doors opened with a bang and the Doctor smiled as he spied Rose- and she had a black X on her hand.

"Sarah-Jane, have you been catalogued yet?" He turned to his old companion with urgency.

"Yes." Sarah-Jane replied simply and showed her mark.

He turned to look at the other two girls. Julia showed the X on her hand, while Martha just shook her head in negative.

"Martha…" the Doctor turned to her seriously. "Stay here. You're going to hold them up, and give me some time."

"Me?" Martha blinked. "How?"

"Just… forgive me for this. It's going to save over a thousand lives. It honestly means nothing."

Then he grabbed her cheeks and snogged her. He cut it off just as suddenly and ran off. Martha's dazed feeling was abruptly crashed as the man's wife, the one who had just smooched her, ran past her.

"What the hell?!" She gaped.

"Is that some sort of tradition for married men from where he's from?" Julia turned to Sarah-Jane.

"Married?" Sarah-Jane echoed in confusion.

"Yeah. He and Rose are married, right?" Julia nodded.

"They are? Since when?!" Sarah-Jane was flabbergasted.

"Um, have been for ten years now, according to him." Julia said hesitantly.

"_He_ said that? The Doctor personally said it?"

"Yeah."

"Huh." Sarah-Jane's eyebrows were at his hairline. "Well, who would have thought?" the corners of her lips twitched.

Martha was distracted from her companions when the judoon closed in. Despite being confused and a bit angry at the unavailable man for kissing her, she was still determined to help him. She stood her ground as they marched right up to her.

"I know who you're looking for. It's this woman- she calls herself Florence." She tried to reason.

The judoon just scanned her and declared: "Human: with non-human trace suspected. Non-human element confirmed. Authorize full scan." They grabbed her and pushed her against the wall. "What are you? What are you?" It demanded as it kept scanning her.

"It's okay, they did the same to Rose." Oliver tried to placate Martha who looked rather frightened.

As it turned out she really needn't have worried that much. Soon enough the judoon released her with a declaration. "Confirm: human. Traces of facial contact with non-human." It also handed Martha a pamphlet of some sort.

"What's this?" Martha blinked in surprise and curiosity.

"Compensation." The judoon replied.

The judoon went back to their task, but the group was determined to make them follow. Finally they managed just that by formal wording of declaring knowledge about the whereabouts of the plasmavore.

* * *

The Doctor was running down the hall towards the MRI room, but Rose still caught up with him. She didn't demand an answer, just landed a furious smack on his cheek.

"Oww." The Doctor whimpered.

"Exactly how many women have you snogged while my back is turned?!" Rose hissed, her rage preventing her from thinking clearly.

"I'm not snogging anyone behind your back!" The Doctor denied vehemently.

"Right. Maybe just _in front_ of me then?!"

"Rose, love, that-"

"Don't call me 'love' you lying piece of-"

"That was a genetic transfer, _not a kiss_." The Doctor blurted urgently.

"What the hell are you talking about?! _Genetic transfer_!?" Rose growled.

"Martha was the only one not catalogued. I needed to buy some time." The Doctor explained quickly.

"Buy time?" Rose frowned, but she was calmer now.

"I'm going to do something dangerous, and I'm going to need your help." The Doctor said.

"What?"

"I'm going to let the plasmavore suck my blood." The Doctor admitted.

Predictably Rose did not like that plan.

"Are you out of your mind?!" She hissed.

"That's why I needed Martha to stall the judoon a bit. And I need you to interrupt before… well…"

"You're sucked dead?" Rose stated bluntly.

"Essentially." The Doctor shrugged nervously.

"There's no way I can let you do this." Rose grabbed on to her husband.

"Rose, if I don't everyone will die."

Rose bit her lip, she knew her husband wouldn't let anyone die if he could help it.

"You better not die, or I'll never forgive you." She pouted.

The Doctor pressed a kiss on her forehead and went to confront the plasmavore. Rose listened in on the door as her husband spouted the most ridiculous things to distract the criminal. Finally he managed to trick her into drinking his blood.

Rose didn't think she had ever been that anxious, and she literally bit down on her hand in effort not to just burst into that room and pull that parasite _far _away from her husband. She heard the distant telltale marching of the judoon and she bolted to greet them, beckoning them towards the MRI room. Thankfully the judoon obeyed her and broke into the room heavily.

The plasmavore jumped back and her slab dropped the Doctor to the ground.

"Now see what you've done!" She accused the judoon. "This poor man just died of fright." She simpered, trying (and succeeding) to come off innocent.

"Scan him." The judoon ordered. "Confirmation: deceased."

The Doctor's companions all gasped in heartbroken denial.

"He can't be." Martha shuddered.

"He isn't." Rose stated strongly and made her way through the judoon and dropped on her knees beside the Doctor.

"Case closed." The judoon said and made a move to pull Rose to her feet again.

"Hands off." Rose snarled at the judoon. "That's my husband!"

The judoon backed off.

"I swear, if you're going to die, I'm going to _kill_ you!" Rose hissed and slapped the Doctor hard, but he remained unresponsive.

"It was her!" Julia accused Finnegan. "She _murdered_ him."

"Judoon have no authority over human crime." The judoon captain stated.

"But she's not human!" Every human in the room protested.

"Oh, but I am. I've been catalogued." Finnegan said smugly and showed off her mark.

Suddenly it dawned on Martha. Finnegan drank _an alien's_ blood. She grabbed a scanner from the judoon, who remained unusually unresponsive, and scanned the plasmavore. The plasmavore was confident, but the smugness drained from her face as soon as the judoon declared her 'non-human'.

"He gave his life so they'd find you." Martha looked at the Doctor mournfully.

Rose shot Martha an annoyed glare.

"I _told _you he's not dead." She shot at her.

He turned back to the Doctor. "Oh, for crying out loud!" She cried out when slapping him didn't seem to have the desired effect. She instead placed her hand on his chest and demonstrated to everyone for the first time that she was not what one might call a human. Her hand started glowing with golden energy, that only Sarah-Jane recognized as regeneration energy, and it moved from her and into his body.

Suddenly the Doctor gasped awake. Unfortunately he wasn't given a moment's rest as Rose immediately assaulted him with her fists while screaming her head off at him in that beautiful lyrical language. The Doctor did his best the shield himself from his wife's furious assault while trying to, unsuccessfully, placate her in that same language. Finally he managed to trap her into an embrace where Rose had no choice but to calm down.

"Wha-" Florence gaped at the man that she had fatally mistaken for a human.

The Doctor winked at her. "Gotcha!" He grinned.

That shook the judoon out of their distraction. They convicted the plasmavore right then and there, but she refused to go down quietly. She overloaded the magnetic scanner just before she was executed.

The judoon declared their case closed and jurisdiction ended. Also that they won't lift a finger to help them, and will instead evacuate.

"The judoon are thick." The doctor commented as the troopers had disappeared out of the door. "They'd never get far enough fast enough before that scanner will overload and explode. By not helping they're effectively signing their own death warrant."

"Do something." Julia demanded then collapsed, oxygen starvation finally completely catching up with her.

"Rose, where's your screwdriver?" The Doctor turned to his wife.

Rose reached into her pocket and pulled out the pink version of the Doctor's own blue sonic screwdriver. The Doctor took it and changed a setting, then he pointed it at the scanner and it shut off.

For a moment there was absolute silence.

"We're running out of air too. Think you can pull off another miracle, Doctor?" Oliver panted.

"No, I can't." The Doctor said regretfully.

"No, but I can." Rose stated and got on her feet.

She stood in the middle of the room and inhaled deeply, but her inhale did not sound like an inhale. Soon a blue box materialized out of thin air right in front of them. The door of the box opened and immediately all humans in the room inhaled deeply, the air in the room somehow filling with oxygen.

"Sarah-Jane?" Rose shook the older woman, but she wasn't responding. "Doctor, help me get her in mum. She's passed out."

The Doctor didn't hesitate to pick his old friend up and carry her in. The other humans slowly got on their feet and curiously peeked into the box. Much to their amazement…

"It's bigger on the inside!" They all said at the same time.

"Come on in, the air is better here." Rose called as she placed a makeshift pillow under Sarah-Jane's head as she was laid on the grille.

"Come in or stay out, but stand away of the door. I'm trying to pump as much oxygen into the hospital as possible." The Doctor said and tweaked behind the controls. Suddenly a draft started drifting out of the box.

"It's bigger on the inside! How's it do that?" Oliver gaped, bug eyed.

"This is your spaceship?" Julia asked.

"Yep. It's called a TARDIS. Time and Relative Dimensions in Space." The Doctor stated proudly.

"That is… _really_ wicked!" Oliver grinned, his colleagues only able to nod dumbly.

"So, it's all over then?" Julia asked.

"As soon as the Judoon reverse it." The Doctor corrected.

"We're going to be on the news!" Oliver's eyes lit up.

"Yeah, mind not mention us if you do happen to get interviewed?"

"Why not?" Oliver asked, confused. "You saved us! You're heroes!" He declared.

"Careful there, Oliver. He has already got a big head." Rose called out in humor.

"But really, it's not the first time we've saved people on Earth." The Doctor said.

"And there are people who know about him. There's actually this organization that deals with paranormal and extraterrestrial threats that knows of him. Employed him for a time too."

"Ugh, that was a long time ago." The Doctor groaned. "Anyway, we're better off anonymous."

Suddenly the TARDIS shook.

"What happened?" Martha asked.

"The judoon reversed it. _Now_ it's over." The Doctor replied.

"You should go. I'm sure your families and friends are worried sick about you." Rose said.

"What about her?" Oliver pointed to Sarah-Jane, who was still unconscious.

"Don't worry. We take care of friends." Rose smiled. "It was nice meeting you all."

"Yeah, you too."

The medical students bid their farewells and went out of the spaceship and out of the hospital.

* * *

**I haven't decided if I want to cut out Martha (and the other two) from the story entirely, give them one trip, or include them for the entire season. Mostly I lean towards the one-story. What do my readers want?**

**Thanks For Reading  
Feedback Always Welcome**


	6. Tea at the Smiths

**Disclaimer: I'm awesome in many ways, but being the owner of Doctor Who is not one of them.**

**A/N: I'm not going to lie: this chapter kind of sucks. Unfortunately it's sort of necessary. It may be short, but it's one of the hardest chapters I've ever written. I knew parts that I wanted to write, but tying them together without making it look like a patchwork was a downright bitch. Any of you write a few lines and then just stare at the page and be like 'okay, where the hell am I supposed to go now?'? Yeah, that was me the majority of this chapter.**

**Also, I've got to warn you. I'm going to write about every S3 episode, however I'm not going to do it in the right order. Hope you don't mind too much.**

* * *

The TARDIS materialized in 13 Bannerman Road, Ealing, London, inside the house of the journalist Sarah-Jane Smith. The couple grabbed said journalist by her feet and armpits separately and clumsily carried her out of the time ship and into her living room.

"Mum!" A young teenager shouted and they stopped in their tracks, Sarah-Jane still lying limp between them.

"Oh, hello. You must be Luke." Rose said.

"Who?" The Doctor blinked.

"Sarah-Jane's son."

"She has a son?!"

The couple helped the woman onto the couch.

"What happened? Is she alright?" The boy asked in concern as he kneeled next to her.

"She'll be alright. Just a wee bit of oxygen starvation." The Doctor explained offhandedly.

Luke did seem reassured, but just then Sarah-Jane stirred and slowly opened her eyes.

"Mum!" Luke cried out in relief and pulled his mother into a tight hug.

Sarah-Jane hugged her son back and blearily lifted herself into a sitting position.

"What happened?" She asked groggily.

"You passed out." Rose spoke up. "The judoon executed their target and undid the scoop. Everything turned out fine."

Sarah-Jane turned to the other two in the room.

"Oh! You're still here?" She exclaimed in pleased surprise. "I was afraid you might have swanned off already."

"Before saying goodbye?" The Doctor's eyes twinkled. "Never."

Sarah-Jane smiled gratefully.

"Are you going to stay for a cuppa?" She offered.

The Doctor shifted a bit uncomfortably.

"Yeaaaah… actually we probably should get…" He started awkwardly.

"Shut up and sit down. We're staying for tea." Rose sent her husband a pointed glare.

Much to Sarah-Jane's amazement the Doctor gave Rose a long suffering pout and sat on a sofa with a defeated air about him. The corners of Sarah-Jane's lips twitched upwards.

"You two really _are_ married." She stated mirthfully. "I wasn't sure if I could believe those medical students."

Rose beamed. "Ten years and one day, as of today." She declared proudly.

"Ten years, huh?" Sarah-Jane said, lightly surprised. "Guess it's been a bit longer for you than it's been for me."

Sarah-Jane went and brought them some tea and biscuits and the four sat down on the living room comfortably. Rose eyed Luke intensely.

"Is there a reason why every instinct in me is screaming I should be cuddling and coddling your son?" Rose asked Sarah-Jane. "It's bizarre. I feel like he's a baby or something."

Sarah-Jane raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Well, actually, technically Luke is only a few months old." Sarah-Jane explained.

That got the Doctor's attention. He stuck his hand into Rose's pocket and pulled out her sonic screwdriver (while expertly ignoring her protests). He pointed the screwdriver at Luke and scanned him.

"You're right, he is." He said, absolutely intrigued. "I'd very much like to hear his story."

Luke didn't seem to mind being scanned, he just stared at the Doctor with innocent wide trusting eyes. It looked like he was naïve enough that as long as his mother trusted someone, so did he. Like a small child.

"Well…" Sarah-Jane started slowly. "A few months ago there was this alien invasion. They created this so called 'organic' drink that actually contained a living secretion of their species."

"Ah, the good old convert a race plot." Rose grinned. "You put a stop to it, I take it?"

"Oh, yes. But I had help." Sarah-Jane said, her voice affectionate. "Anyway, the entire planet was absolutely taken by the drink -_Bubble Shock!_ they called it- however two percent of the population found it ghastly. So, they created Luke to try and fix it."

"Ah! An archetype." The Doctor nodded in comprehension.

"What happened to the invasion? And how'd you end up adopting him?" Rose asked.

Sarah-Jane went on to explain how she investigated the factory and ended up running into Luke after he was accidentally activated. She then told the story how Luke saved them with an intergalactic cell phone and his eidetic memory. All the while accidentally pulling Sarah-Jane's new girl neighbor into the mess.

"He had nowhere to go or anyone to take care of him. So I took him in as my own." Sarah-Jane ended her tale. "Lord knows what would've become of him if someone like UNIT got their paws on him. I can't show him to anyone."

"Actually you can." The Doctor spoke up. "Because he's completely an utterly, one hundred percent human. Nothing unordinary about him at all… except…" He trailed off with a frown.

"What?" Sarah-Jane urged with the fear only a mother would have.

"Well, he's… perfect." The Doctor finished a bit lamely.

"He's human, but he's the most prime human I have ever met. _Ever_. His immune system is off the charts, I doubt he'll ever get sick, or even need to go to the dentist. If he'll live his life healthily he'd probably be able to still run tracks when he's pushing a hundred."

"Is that good or bad?" Luke asked naïvely.

"Living a long and healthy life is coveted not only by humans, but pretty much every life form in the universe. I'd go for good." Rose smiled.

"His brainwaves are also phenomenal. I'd go far enough to say he's impressive even by Time Lord standards." The Doctor went on.

"Not to mention he's a good looking boy, as well." Rose whispered to Sarah-Jane who started to look a little nervous at the Doctor's clinical attitude.

"I don't think the Bane had that in mind much when they created me." Luke commented when he overheard her.

"The Bane!" The Doctor exclaimed gleefully. "Why didn't you say so before? This makes so much more sense now."

"What does?" The other three in the room asked.

"The Bane nearly successfully converted 98% of the human population, yes?"

Sarah-Jane and Luke nodded.

"Two percent is not all that significant. They could easily be eradicated or forcefully converted after the rest of the humans were taken over, but they chose to try and correct the problem anyway. Why?"

"Why?" Rose spoke up, indulging her husband.

"The answer is actually very simple. The Bane are known to be the most fanatically perfectionist race ever. It stems from their gruesome habit of eating kin who fail… alive"

"Eww." Rose made a face along with Sarah-Jane.

The Doctor turned back to Luke. "You're very lucky. You were given a chance to live with an outstanding body and an even better mind. But most of all you have Sarah-Jane for a mother." He told him.

"I know. She's great." Luke said with sincerity that nearly melted Rose.

She cooed at Luke and started baby talking to him. The Doctor pinched the bridge of his nose in embarrassment and Sarah-Jane placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Uh, Rose? Are you okay?" She asked.

Rose looked a bit startled, but then a look of comprehension overtook her.

"Oh. Right. Sorry about that, but I can't help it! He's only a few months old human, every instinct's telling me he's a baby." Rose apologized, embarrassed.

"Can't imagine it's easy for you, Lukey-boy, being born into adolescence." The Doctor smiled at Luke.

"I'm a bit socially awkward, but I have mum and good friends who help me. Human interactions just don't make any sense sometimes." Luke wasn't ashamed to admit.

"What I'd like to know is how Rose can sense it all." Sarah-Jane spoke up as she eyed the other woman. "When we first met I assumed she's human, but apparently that's not the case."

"When you first met she sort of was human." The Doctor said.

"Oh. So she went through an accelerated evolution?" Sarah-Jane guessed.

"No, no. The Doctor should've said I had the _form_ of a human."

The married couple explained Rose's origin to the Smiths who hanged on to their every word.

"That's fascinating." Luke stated earnestly once they were done.

"So… you can do everything a real TARDIS can do?" Sarah-Jane asked.

"Eventually, yes. However, I'm too immature to be able to materialize anywhere in time or space yet." Rose grinned.

"Should take another hundred years. Perhaps even longer. Her time as a human and away from the vortex probably stunted her development a bit, but now that she's being nurtured properly it should be fine." The Doctor babbled.

"What about the bigger on the inside part?" Sarah-Jane asked.

Rose grinned mischievously and stuck her hand inside her chest. Literally. Her hand went through her clothes and flesh with a soft blue light. Sarah-Jane and Luke stared in fascination.

"I'm not powerful enough to generate very much space, barely standing room only for one or two large adults. Actually, I doubt I could ever be as spacious as mother. Right now I just store some stuff." She explained cheerfully and pulled out a thick leather bound book.

Immediately the Doctor gave a pained groan. "No don't. Just… don't." He pleaded with Rose who only smirked at him sinisterly.

She opened the first page theatrically, complete with slow dramatics, then waved Sarah-Jane and Luke to sit next to her.

"Oh! It's a photo album." Sarah-Jane exclaimed in delighted surprise.

"What's so bad about a photo album?" Luke asked in confusion while eyeing the Doctor who had buried his face into his hands while whimpering.

"Nothing, darling. He just hates reminiscing, and fears domestics. And looking at old pictures with old friends is about as domestic as it gets." Rose giggled mirthfully.

"Who're they?" Sarah-Jane asked as she pointed out an older picture.

"Oh, that's an old friend of ours. Jack Harkness. You'd probably like him, as everyone does. 51st century guy, an _unbelievable_ flirt." Rose grinned.

"He looks familiar." Sarah-Jane commented.

"Hard to forget a face like that. Don't think you've really met him." Rose shrugged.

"I suppose you're right. Who's the other fella?"

Rose giggled darkly as the Doctor groaned in overdone agony.

"That… is the Doctor." Rose declared dramatically.

Sarah-Jane gasped in disbelief then burst into giggles. "Doctor! You wore _leather_?! That's a far cry from the opera cape."

The Doctor only pouted and sent a betrayed glare in Rose's direction.

"Does he change his appearance regularly?" Luke spoke up.

"Only when he's about to die. Here, see?" Rose flipped the album and opened it at the end where she had stored the few pictures she had managed to salvage of the Doctor's previous incarnations.

"Where did you find those?!" The Doctor gasped, he had not known about those photos in Rose's possession.

"Just some mother had saved over the years." Rose commented offhandedly.

"Oh…" Sarah-Jane sighed nostalgically as she traced a picture of herself, K9 and a man with wild curly hair and a ridiculously long scarf. "This brings back memories."

"You were really pretty when you were young, mum." Luke mentioned as he took in his mother's younger face.

Minutes passed as the group went through the album. Even the Doctor got over his mortification and joined in. After the album had ran out of pictures Sarah-Jane and Rose went to clean up the dishes while Luke and the Doctor stayed in the living room, talking about who know what.

"You don't need to help me, you're my guest." Sarah-Jane told Rose.

"Would you believe me if I said cleaning dishes has become a novelty for me?" Rose grinned.

"Unfortunately I would. Knowing life with the Doctor." Sarah-Jane shook her head. "What's it like?"

"What's what like?"

"Being married to him."

For a moment neither of them said anything.

"It's the same as any other marriage is- or should be." Rose said wistfully. "Except more… intense I guess. A Gallifreyan marriage… it's more intimate than anything humans can have. And I mean it literally."

"I'm not following." Sarah-Jane admitted.

"Basically all our joys and sorrows are shared." Rose tried to explain.

"How's that different from a healthy human marriage?" Sarah-Jane was confused.

"It's… when we're… intimate." Rose started a bit awkwardly. "We're a psychic couple. Then means when we- y'know… basically there's literally no way to tell where one begins and the other ends, we sort of meld into one."

"Oh." Sarah-Jane shifted uncomfortably.

"Physically it's the same as humans, but mentally you literally become one. It comes with a side effect though. Once you separate again, an impression is made on the other. The more often you're together the stronger the imprint gets, until you literally share in each other's pains and joys. His have already become mine."

Sarah-Jane winced. "You have his pain and guilt from the time war? His centuries of suffering?"

Rose smiled and nodded.

"In sharing his pain, his load has gotten about half as light. Yes, I feel his pain as if it were mine, but that's what any woman would do for the man she loves. I'm sure you understand. Plus I share in his joys as well."

"Guess it's always better with two." Sarah-Jane said with a sigh.

"That's what he said, a long time ago. Anyway, we should see what the boys are up to. Don't want the Doctor to blow up half your house by showing Luke how to reassemble the telly or something."

The women went back to the living room. Luckily the males were not tinkering with anything electronic. They just had a few ordinary A4 sheets that were full of scribbles, which upon closer inspection turned out to be formulas of some kind.

"You two seem to be having fun." Rose commented.

"The Doctor's brilliant." Luke said eagerly. "He's showing me mechanics of the third string theory."

"_Third_ string theory?" Sarah-Jane blinked in surprise. "There's a third string theory? There's a _second_ string theory?"

"Actually there's fourteen in total." The Doctor grinned smugly.

"I'm not even going to contemplate how that's possible, or what on earth that could possibly mean." Sarah-Jane mumbled to Rose who only shrugged.

"You, me both." Rose rolled her eyes. "I leave the technical stuff to him."

"The boy's even more brilliant than I originally thought. It's almost a shame to leave him here, with no proper way to educate him." The Doctor almost bounced with excitement, his inner educator on the surface.

"You can always send him independent homework if it bothers you that much." Rose joked.

"Oh! That's not a bad idea." The Doctor beamed at his wife.

"Eh? I wasn't serious." Rose mumbled.

"How would you contact us, Doctor?" Sarah-Jane spoke up.

The Doctor hummed in thought. "I could directly beam it to your computer, I suppose. I'd just need to connect it to the TARDIS first."

"What about Mr. Smith?" Luke suggested.

"A relative?" Rose asked in confusion.

"Mr. Smith isn't a relative. He's… actually follow me."

Sarah-Jane led them up the stairs and into her attic. And let's just say it was impressive. It was cluttered with a lot of alien gizmos and mementos, ancient depictions of the TARDIS throgout history, photos of old friends like the brigadier and the Doctor himself.

"Mr. Smith, I need you." Sarah-Jane voiced to the seemingly empty room clearly.

With a sudden fanfare one brick wall sort of… opened up to reveal a wide-screened computer.

"Sarah-Jane, you have brought guests." A cool, somewhat mechanical male voice said.

"You're a Xylok, aren't you?" The Doctor stated, intrigued by his old friend's computer.

"That is correct." The machine replied.

"Huh…" The Doctor hummed thoughtfully. "Tell me… Mr. Smith, was it? What's your primary function?"

"I assist Sarah-Jane Smith in her endeavors." Mr. Smith replied.

"Really?" The Doctor was surprised. "How did that come to be? Where'd you even get him?" He asked Sarah-Jane.

"A crystal memory cell from a spacecraft that crashed on Earth millions of years ago. About a year ago I came across that crystal, and it started communicating with me through my laptop. It said it could help me protect the Earth, but our technology wasn't advanced enough for him- so he built Mr. Smith."

"And that is your purpose? To aid Sarah-Jane?" The Doctor raised an eyebrow at Mr. Smith.

"That is correct." The computer replied.

"Brilliant." The Doctor grinned. "But how did that came to be? You couldn't have _just_ decided you wanted to assist Sarah out of the blue. What about your old purpose?"

"My old purpose had become obsolete. I needed a new purpose. Sarah-Jane gave me a new purpose." Mr. Smith explained crisply.

"Is something wrong?" Sarah-Jane asked, a bit concerned by the Doctor's inquisition.

"Not at all! Xyloks are intelligent crystalline life forms, which you already knew. They're neither good nor evil, and can be either your greatest ally or biggest nightmare. It all boils down to their primary purpose, which they carry out with cold determination. And you have one at your beck and call! That's brilliant." The Doctor grinned maniacally.

Rose cleared her throat. "Luke's homework?" She reminded them.

"Oh, right. Mr. Smith, I'm going to need you to just chill for a moment. I'm going to connect you with my TARDIS, so you can receive certain files from her every once in a while." The Doctor pointed his screwdriver at Mr. Smith and it whirred for a moment.

"There, done." He said.

"That's it?" Sarah-Jane blinked in surprise. That was quick.

"What did you expect? A two-hour download?" The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, I think we should go back to the TARDIS now." Rose spoke up. "Do you want to come and have a look, Luke?"

"Of course." Luke nodded eagerly.

The group went to the TARDIS. Luke looked around the console room in complete wonder. "It's got inter-dimensional innards!" He said in awe.

"Well, that's another way of saying 'bigger on the inside'." Rose sniggered to her husband.

"It's beautiful." Luke said.

"She, not it. Remember, she is Rose's mother." The Doctor corrected.

"Right. Of course. Sorry." Luke apologized.

"How about a trip?" Rose suggested.

"Oh, no. I don't think so." Sarah-Jane shook her head.

"Why not? For old times' sake." The Doctor tempted.

"Really, that chapter's of my life's closed." The journalist rebuffed.

"Come on. Just one trip into time and space. For Luke's sake." Rose said, her tone as sweet as honey.

"Can we? Please?" Luke begged his mother.

"Oh, I don't know, Luke. Travelling with the Doctor is often rather dangerous." Sarah-Jane hesitated.

"Any more than the life we have here?" Luke cocked his head.

Sarah-Jane hesitated.

"Oh alright." She gave in.

Rose and Luke threw their hands into the air and whooped in celebration. Or rather Rose did, and Luke copied her.

"But just _one_ trip, alright!" Sarah-Jane said, her tone strict.

"Then I guess I better make it worthwhile. Hmm… I think I know _just_ the thing." The Doctor said deviously.

"Better be careful. On my first trip he took me to the end of the world, trying to be all impressive." Rose forewarned with a wide grin.

"What, really?" Sarah-Jane gasped.

"Oh yeah." Rose grinned.

"Better hold on!" The Doctor called cheerfully and flicked a switch.

Immediately the TARDIS shook and rocked. Sarah-Jane and Luke desperately grabbed on hold to anything stable.

"I don't remember the TARDIS being this turbulent." Sarah-Jane commented, but she didn't look like she minded very much.

"Allons-y!"

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Just as the TARDIS had dematerialized the front door of the Smiths house banged open and a pair of teenagers ran in. It was a boy and a girl approximately the same age as Luke looked. They called out to Sarah-Jane.

"She's not here. Luke!?" The boy called out.

"He's not here either, Clyde. Do you think they were in the hospital together?" The girl asked.

"What, without us? Not a chance, Maria." Clyde denied adamantly.

"Then where are they?" Maria asked in concern.

"Let's see if Mr. Smith knows anything."

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**Please don't whine too much. Like I said before, this chapter was necessary. I'll try to have the next chapter out by next week. That one's definitely going to be longer.**

**Thanks For Reading  
Feedback Always Welcome… Seriously.**


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